That Morning Five Years Ago
by OhGodWhy151
Summary: On that day five years ago Wall Maria fell and Humanity fell into chaos, but in this world can a young girl with a mysterious past find a way to start again? Or will she bring everything and everyone around her down in blaze of fire. [Rated M for:sexual content/language/violence/gore and spoilers]
1. On that day

**Hey hey well this is going to be strange, for those who have read this before this is the updated version for those of you who are new...WELCOME, this is a story revolving around Annie, it is a romance but I won't say who between. To find out you have to read on! **

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It was tragically normal for Annie Leonhart to sleep a dreamless sleep, she was only ten years old but today she would face the trials of a warrior and a monster.

As the warming rays of the morning sun passed gently over her peaceful and flawless face Annie stirred as the bright light crossed her lonely bedroom, her sapphire like eyes fluttered open and she swore quietly as she reluctantly threw her still warm bed covers from her body. Annie took a moment to let her still sleep blurred vision clear.

Today was the day that Annie would be forced to remember forever, so once her sight had cleared and sharpened she wasted no time in rising from her bed and silently making her way down stairs. Since the death of her mother a few painfully short months ago Annie was forced to prepare her father's breakfast and complete the morning chores, she had become well versed in sneaking downstairs as quietly as humanly possible. Waking her father before his bodyclock was a terrible and strictly disciplined crime. By the time she gracefully tip-toed down the fragile steps of her home Annie could feel the bitter cold of the winter morning in her bear feet, Annie stopped in front of the large wooden door and sighed quietly as she prepared for the biting frost to attack her exposed skin.

Morning light, bright and powerful engulfed her body and for a brief second she basked in the pale glare of the sun, however. Moments later the chill of the air replaced the relief of the light, Annie shuddered as the cold morning breeze danced across her snow white cheeks. She wasted no time in sprinting across the frost lined grass towards their private moss ridden well, the first of the mornings many tasks was to gather water to boil for the morning tea and the bath tub. Taking the heavy bucket in her hands Annie threw the pail down into the darkness of the surprisingly deep well.

As she waited for the bucket to fill with crisp, cold water Annie's young mind wandered as it usually would. Little Annie thought of the trials of the past few years, they had been by far the hardest of her small and fragile life. From the age of seven Annie's parents had pushed her tiny body to extremes, constant training, long hikes in the mountains, grueling days and nights mastering the fighting technique that only the Leonhart family knew. It had almost been too much for her at many points; to be honest, Annie still didn't truly understand the reason behind her training. A few times over the past few years, Annie would hear her father and mother talking to strangers down stairs- all the while Annie focused on her chores and fighting forms. They would often talk about 'promise' usually after hearing this strange and unusual term Annie could hear a sound that resembled sobbing and crying. Annie yearned to learn about the masked figures (that would often watch her fight)-but her father had quickly repressed her 'childlike' fantasies. These people were not, under any circumstance, to be messed with.

A brisk winter wind snapped her out of her trance and Annie began hauling the now full bucket out of the well, sudden pain flickered across her face as the rope slipped from her hand riving some of her skin with it. Despite the pain and discomfort that riddled her hands Annie managed to pull the bucket up and over the lip of the well. The moment she let go of the thick rope a thin column of steam started to rise from the numerous cuts in her hand, the first time that the steam came from her body Annie was terrified until her father calmed her down and told her that it was normal and a good thing, what Annie never saw were the tears that filled her father's ocean blue eyes.

Annie closed her eyes as the layers broken of skin began knitting back together, no matter how many times it happened it still felt alien and strange. Once the feeling had vanished Annie opened her eyes and looked down at her newly repaired hands, she sighed softly before picking up the bucket full of water and making her way back to her riverside home.

Just as Annie reached out to the frozen door handle a great tremor shook the ground beneath her feet, some of the water she had collected spilled forth from the bucket as yet another tremor rumbled the very air around her and then another and another. It didn't take very long for Annie to figure out that they were footsteps and there was only one person that Annie knew that could make footsteps that loud, fear trickled through her veins and Annie decided that staying outside was a bad idea, she hastily opened her front door and rushed inside, her breath racing.

Annie didn't even go to check the window for the source of the rumbling, she just went straight to the roaring fire place to boil the freshly collected water. As the fire started to heat and boil Annie turned her attention towards the large clock that hung directly over the front door frame, she noticed that it was already ten o'clock. The night before her father had told her how three very important friends would be visiting them in the morning at eleven o'clock, she had just under an hour to get ready and prepare both her father's and her own breakfast.

Once the kettle had boiled Annie took great care in pouring the bubbling liquid into her father's mug, ever since she was even smaller Annie had always wanted to try some of the murky red drink that her father loved so dearly, however. For as long as she could remember she was forbidden from having an entire drink to herself, her father used to say something about getting distracted or hyperactive by the bitter drink.

A few minutes later Annie heard her father angrily make his way out of his bed, his muscular body forced the floorboards to creak under his weight as he made his way downstairs. After making it to the bottom of the stairs he took a moment to scan the room for his chair by the fireplace, his soft muddy eyes focused on the beaten chair and he silently crossed the room towards his seat.

Only when he sat down and had quickly poured a large cup full of the cloudy red drink did he address his daughter. ''Annie, they'll be here soon go and get yourself ready.'' His voice was deep and Annie could hear the faint traces of sadness in his tone.

But instead of questioning her father as she normally would Annie just nodded and rushed upstairs to her room, making sure not to slam the door too loudly.

* * *

Annie stood in front of the large mirror that stood on top of her chest of draws, she spent several minutes examining herself in the reflective looking glass for anything out of place. Annie never really cared for her looks, she saw make up and frilly dresses as a waste of time, one day many months ago her father asked if she wanted a dress for her birthday to which she replied. ''How am I supposed to fight in a dress?'' It was one of the happiest memories her father had.

Her flawless golden hair was freely hanging over her eyes, Annie sighed as she tied her hair back into a messy bun but she left her fringe to tumble across her eye. With her hair no longer obscuring her vision Annie leaned in closer to her mirror to examine her azure eyes, she wiped away any signs of sleep dust or weary tears with her sleeve. Her gaze slowly traced down her snowy white cheeks and sharp nose, content with her facial appearance Annie sighed as poured herself a steaming hot bath.

After scrubbing herself clean and washing her hair Annie had reluctantly got out of her bath tub and silently hoped across her room ignoring the cold air that bit at her exposed skin. She was about to pull a clean set of clothes from her draws when something caught her eye.

Lying on her bed were a new set of clothes that her father had gone out and bought from the local trader the day before. A comfortable new pair of tracksuit bottoms and an immaculate white hooded jacket were neatly folded on her bed along with a small note.

_In case you get cold. _

_T _

Annie wanted to smile at the kind gesture but given the fact that today she would be leaving home all Annie could do was silently thank her father and make sure to honor the promise she made one night after training.

After quickly dressing Annie rushed downstairs where her father was waiting for her with two steaming mugs in his hand. As soon as his auburn eyes saw her he couldn't fight off a small smile. ''You've turned into a beautiful young warrior Little Ann.'' The mission hadn't even started yet but the sound of her father using her nickname for possibly the last time was enough to bring her heart to the brink of breaking. ''Your mother would be so proud of who you have become.'' Despite the kind words of his compliment he couldn't meet Annie's eye.

''Why do you have two mugs?'' It was a feeble but appreciated attempt to change the direction of the conversation.

Annie's father looked up from the floor to face his daughter, there was another smile picking at his lips as he extended his arm towards his beloved daughter. ''I think your old enough to have a cup of tea with your father.'' He said weakly.

Her young face veritably lit up at the concept of finally being allowed a cup of the illustrious beverage. ''Come here, I made breakfast while you were getting ready.'' He set down both cups on the large wooden table, upon which were five wooden plates, each was lined with an impressive arrangement of food. From boiled eggs to smoked river fish to freshly picked vegetable from last week's harvest there was enough food on the table to feed a large family.

''What about Le-'' Her father quickly cut her off.

''She isn't here! She is helping the Brauns roof their new home.'' Annie's father had balled his fists and his friendly expression had dimmed to a degree. After what felt like an hour he spoke once again. ''Try some.'' He pointed to the mug that was still billowing out a thick column of steam.

Annie didn't need any more convincing, she immediately dropped her fork and the segment of egg that was on the end of it before reaching out to her cup. At first she was amazed by hot it was, it wasn't scaldingly hot but it was hot enough to warm her to the core, she was about to take a sip when her father stopped her.

''Wait, smell it first.'' He suggested.

Annie had a confused look on her face but she simply shrugged and took a deep breath in from the pillar of steam from the cup, the first thing that struck her was the sweet scent of the drink. ''It smells nice.'' She said softly.

Annie's father chuckled as he got out of his chair and went to the kitchen surface, he reached over and picked up a small jar of a thick golden liquid. ''This is the secret to my tea.''

''Honey!'' Annie gasped.

''Exactly, it's very expensive so you better drink all of it.'' He smiled as Annie nodded and began taking large sips of the sweet tea. Only minutes later her mug was completely empty and Annie had leaned back in her chair as the heat from her tea heated her from the inside.

''Annie, I want you to remember what you pro-'' He never had a chance to finish his last request to his daughter, a thundering knock on the door caused Annie to jump slightly and her father stood from his chair and went to the door, under his breath he muttered something to quiet for his daughter to hear. ''This is it Ilya…''

Annie already knew who their visitors were but she was slightly surprised by how early they were.

Standing in the morning sunlight were two, young boys. Both were very tall for their age but one was marginally taller than the other, the first to enter the house was a blond boy with striking golden eyes and broad shoulders.

''Good morning Reiner.'' Annie's father said as he shook his hand and welcomed him inside, Reiner nodded in reply before going in and sitting at the table, for some reason he refused to make eye contact with Annie or her father, usually he would be making jokes about her height or off hand comments about her nose but this morning he was absolutely silent and Reiner was never silent.

The second boy was a tad taller than Reiner, he had relatively short chocolate brown hair and smoky grey eyes that seemed slightly red and raw as if he was crying.

''Ah Bertolt good to see you again, how is your family?'' Annie's father knew that this mindless chit-chat would do nothing to distract him from the grim nature of his mission but it couldn't hurt to show some interest.

''They're...good.'' He mumbled as he shook his hand and walked indoors towards Annie.

''I-it's good to see you again Annie.'' Annie was shocked by how weak his voice was. Annie looked past him to her father for guidance on how to respond, in the past few months it had become all too obvious that Bertolt had developed feelings towards her, Annie being an eleven year old had no idea how to deal with these unrequited emotions. Her father simply nodded to her with a hint of smugness.

''Likewise.'' She turned her gaze from the tall boy towards the fireplace where the kettle was boiling. As she walked towards the boiling vessel Bertolt watched her go, heart pounding in his chest, whenever he looked at her Bertolt lost himself in her cobalt eyes.

As the two newcomers began digging into the breakfast Annie's father had prepared Annie brought up a topic that Bertolt and Reiner never wanted to relive.

''Reiner, where's Marcel?''

At the sound of his name Reiner froze, his normally stoic eyes immediately filling with crystal like tears while Bertolt balled his fists as tears of his own welled up in the corners of his eyes.

''He...he was...I couldn't protect him.'' Reiner sobbed. ''It was a few days ago, our final test was to be abandoned just outside of the village and we had to make it back again on our own...and...and.'' At that point Reiner broke down, he weeped loudly as his shoulders trembled, grief filled tears trailing down his cheeks.

Annie had experienced loss and grief only once in the past and she never wanted to feel the crushing weight that accompanied the many, many tears. ''What happened?'' Annie's ocean blue eyes were wide with a mix of disbelief and confusion.

It was Bertolt who looked up from the wooden floor to answer her question. ''He was killed...by a Titan.'' He spat.

*Flashback*

''IS IT STILL BEHIND US!?'' Reiner yelled as he leaped over a fallen tree.

''I'M NOT LOOKING!'' Marcel shouted as he too vaulted over the same tree only minutes later.

Sweat trickled down their foreheads as Reiner, Bertolt and Marcel sprinted through the dense thicket of the woods that surrounded their home, weaving between the enormous trees around them Reiner pulled ahead of the other two, he was always the strongest and fastest of their group. Reiner took a moment to look behind him to make sure that his dear friends weren't falling too far behind. Relief flooded through his exhausted veins as he realised that they were far closer than he thought, he was about to yell for them to hurry up when something terrifying burst into view.

Chasing after them was a seven meter tall Titan, it was sprinting after them on its oddly short but incredibly strong legs for their size. The colour drained from his face as he came to a chilling conclusion. _It's going to catch us. _In his young life he had seen many Titans but none as fast and as agile as this one, Bertolt caught wind of Reiner's worry and looked behind him and immediately wished he hadn't.

The monster was catching up to them at a startling rate, it was leaping over entire trees as if they weren't even there. Bertolt felt his heart leap out of his chest as his dull grey eyes met the ravenous glare of the beast that was hunting them.

''Reiner! What do we do!'' Bertolt yelled as he caught up to their leader.

''I-I don't know! Reiner cried out as he vaulted over a protruding rock.

Marcel looked ahead of him and realised that both Bertolt and Reiner were slowly getting further and further ahead of him and as they did a single sinister thought consumed him. _I'm going to die...I won't bring them down with me. _

''RUN!'' Marcel screamed as he dug his heels into the dirt. ''I'LL LEAD IT AWAY, NOW GET OUT OF HERE!'' He ordered.

''MARCEL NO! WE ARE DOING THIS TOGETHER.'' Reiner protested as he to came to a sudden stop.

''Reiner...you're our leader now, make sure you come home, you to Bertie.'' Those were Marcel's last words to his friends as he began his suicidal charge towards the Titan. Before Bertolt or Reiner could turn to stop him Marcel was already sprinting with nothing but a small hunting knife to defend himself with.

As he made his final approach the Titan raised a single open hand and swung it towards the boy with all its unnatural strength, Marcel ducked beneath the strike and went to slice away at its achilles tendon in a feeble attempt to slow it down and buy his friends more time, however the instant that his knife made contact with the Titan's skin Marcel realised the magnitude of his failing. The metal blade didn't even pierce the skin, it instead just passed over it without leaving a single mark for his troubles.

For a moment he stared at the weapon with a concoction of both confusion and fear, in his trance Marcel didn't see the Titan's giant hand close around his young and fragile body until he saw the razor like talons of its fingers curl around him.

Reiner wanted nothing more than to turn and fight the monster that was choking the life out of his best friend, but the blood in his veins turned to thick ice as fear, strong and chilling filled his heart, eventually Reiner broke from his fear and drew his own knife and turned to face the Titan but as he did the dwindling amount of courage he had evaporated as he saw tears of pride and sorrow fill Marcel's teal green eyes.

Reiner felt as if his body was made of lead as Marcel was raised towards the mouth of the ever-hungry Titan, he just simply shaked his head as he saw the knife in the blond boy's hand, Marcel closed his eyes as a wave of stomach churning stink arouse from the cavernous jaws. Bertolt looked away as tears cascaded down his tanned cheeks, but Reiner didn't shift his gaze, he couldn't.

He couldn't look away, not even as the Titan revealed its razor like teeth, not even as it tore one of his closest friends in two. Only after Bertolt ran back to his traumatised ally and picked him did he close his eyes and weep over the loss of Marcel as Bertolt carried him away from the Titan that was now gorging itself on the young boy's remains.


	2. When the walls fell

**Well here's chapter 2! I hope you're enjoy this as much as I am enjoying writing it. Please leave me a review or a PM with your thoughts on this chapter, that'd be awesome. **

**Anyway go on, read and enjoy!**

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For a horrifyingly long time nobody reacted to the bloody and heartbreaking story Reiner had told. In all her years of being around Reiner, not once had she ever seen him with tears falling down his cheeks. Part of her begged her to go over and comfort her friend, but whenever she tried to move her legs felt like they had turned to stone.

Annie was forced to watch as Reiner's shoulders trembled with grief. Her friend was right in front of her, but there was nothing she could do or say that would ease the pain he was feeling. Part of the reason why she was left so immobile was not the prospect of never seeing Marcel again, but the shock of seeing the strong and stoic Reiner reduced to his most basic, innocent, and child-like instincts. After all, he was only ten years old.

The only sound in the entire house was the sound of Reiner Braun sobbing over the loss of one of his best friends. That was, until Annie's father spoke the painful but necessary truth.

''The mission...must go on.'' While to the children it seemed as if there was no sorrow or sadness in his tone, the truth was the exact opposite. In his eyes, all this meant was that another child had been taken by what he believed to be a suicide mission. And it was only going to tear his family apart even more.

''You don't even care do you?'' Reiner spat as he wiped the tears from his reddening eyes.

''This mission is more important than any individual. You know that and Marcel knew that.''

Each and every word that he spoke ignited a fire underneath Reiner's skin. He got to his feet and picked up one of the chairs around the dining table. Using all of his supernatural strength, he launched it towards Annie's father.

He lazily dodged the projectile and watched it explode into splinters against the wall before turning on Reiner. ''What would Marcel do if it were you?'' He shouted. ''Because I can guarantee that while he would grieve, he wouldn't cry like some weak child.'' He paused to take a breath.

''Listen, all of you.'' Bertolt, Reiner and Annie gathered around him. ''You are no longer children; you are proud warriors. You must succeed so that you can come home to us, to your families.'' Annie's father hadn't even realised that he had turned his head to face Annie as he spoke these last words. ''Marcel didn't die in vain; he saw your strength and sacrificed himself so that you wouldn't waste it.'' He rested a hand on Reiner's shoulder before pulling him into a hug.

''But… But his dad and sisters?'' Reiner said between messy coughs.

''Leave that to me son, I'll tell them don't worry.'' He said. He was about to offer some words of encouragement to both Bertolt and his daughter when a loud knock at the door shattered their moment. Annie's father instantly stood and made his way to the door. _Here we go Ilya. _He thought before throwing the door open.

The rest of Annie's memories that day were a terrifying storm of heat, steam, pain, muffled screams and Titans, so many Titans.

* * *

*Two years later*

Peaking over the unbroken ridge of Wall Rose, the punishing morning sun shone through Annie's bedroom window, reluctantly pulling her from a particularly peaceful sleep.

She took a moment to relish in the dream she was having until morning decided to interrupt. It was of her father. While the years of training Annie had endured were long and brutal, they were still some of her happiest. In the two years since she had seen her father, the world had changed - and not for the better. Wall Maria had fallen. The Colossal Titan had seemingly appeared out of nowhere in a flash of lighting, and with one foot it had shattered a century of peace. Minutes later the Armoured Titan crawled through the hole made by its companion, followed by a seemingly endless flow of Titans. Using the sheer force of its body it had crashed through Wall Maria's last line of defence.

Annie had helped kill thousands of people and thanks to her training she didn't feel a thing; it disgusted her. She snuck over to the window and looked out over the city of Trost. In the distance, she saw two fully grown men fighting over what Annie guessed to be a simple yet precious loaf of bread. Annie sighed as she felt her own stomach calling for sustenance. Casting away her night clothes, the not-so-little Annie put on the hoodie and tracksuit that she had finally grown into in recent months.

Hours later, Annie was standing in line with Bertolt and Reiner as they awaited their much needed morning rations; being children came with certain perks, even in a crisis. They could cut most of the line to receive a large portion of bread and water each. As the line shuffled ever closer to the distributors Annie heard something loud and annoying.

She simply ignored it, but as time progressed the noise escalated into shouting and screaming. After taking her bread Annie turned her head to find the source of the yelling. To her surprise the sound was coming from a young boy who looked barely as old as her. He was quite far away so Annie couldn't clearly make out his features, though she could tell that he had chocolate brown hair and striking green eyes. He was shouting to an equally young boy with golden blond hair. Even from her distance, she could feel his anger in the air and see the rage in his eyes. Although she would never admit it, Annie felt her heart beat a little quicker and a little harder in her chest. Nothing in the world made Annie feel that way.

Now that she had collected her food Annie left the food barn to look for somewhere secluded where she could attempt to enjoy her pitiful excuse for a meal in peace. It didn't take her long to find a hill covered in a thick cloak of lush green grass. Atop the very center of the hill stood a lone oak tree. Its thick canopy provided the perfect amount of shade for Annie to eat in peace and comfort.

Annie sat down under the cooling shade and gazed out at the city of Trost that was her new home.

From her position Annie could see most of the city and despite the years she spent building up a fortress of steel around her heart, she still felt a small lump arise in her throat. She saw families begging on the streets in hope of finding scraps for their children. She watched as two soldiers were forced to break up a fight between two friends over some alleged stolen bread. She watched as the boy with emerald green eyes was beaten to the ground by the people charged with protecting him. Annie watched as friend turned on friend over something as trivial as breakfast. She watched as families were torn apart; as fathers and brothers went to work in the frontiers in the hope of feeding their loved ones.

No matter what her father had told her, no matter how hard she trained, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, Annie and her friends had caused this chaos and grief.

As a result of the worsening food shortages the royal government ordered that all refugees must work in farm camps to bring in some much needed food. It wasn't enough. Many people died that winter, trying to plow the lands proved too much for some of them. Annie would always remember seeing an old man working next to her and Bertolt collapse in the snow and simply not get back up.

Despite the sacrifice of many lives it was simply not enough to alleviate the ever encroaching famine. Fearing that the lack of food would impact on their luxurious lives the people of Wall Sina pleaded to the royal government, demanding that something be done about the overwhelming number of refugees. As a result the King announced a massive operation to retake Wall Maria from the Titans, a few weeks later the gate to Trost was opened as 250,000 men and women left armed with pitchforks and swords. Only 137 returned. People were rightly outraged at the decision made by their rulers but they couldn't deny that it eased the food shortages somewhat.

Somewhere among the veritable hive of mourning families and friends, three young children stood. A girl with a scarlet scarf, the boy with golden hair and the boy with the stunningly green eyes agreed that they would no longer let the Titans rule their lives. Little did they know that on the other side of the city, Bertolt, Annie and Reiner were making the same decision - albeit for very different reasons.

*Two more years later*

It wasn't strange for Annie to have dreams now. Since she had left her father and village behind, she found that she was having more and more dreams. For as long as she could remember her sleep was mostly empty, but recently she found herself dreaming of the boy with angry yet vibrant eyes from the food barn. It had been two years since she last saw him but nonetheless she still remembered him in perfect detail. Annie dreamed of him standing up from yet another brutal beating. Annie dreamed of him as he threw what little food he had to the floor. Annie dreamed of his burning determination and it made her heart flutter.

Out of the three of them Bertolt was the lightest sleeper. His sleep had been plagued by nightmares for four years now, meaning that he was never far from waking in the night covered in sweat. After waking from a particularly painful nightmare Bertolt threw the covers from his bed. He and the others had been moved to an inn in the city shortly after the recapture operation. They were given their own shared room under the condition they kept it clean and well maintained and helped out in the bar below. As he sat up, Bertolt found his eyes wandering to where they usually would in the mornings. Underneath their single window was one of the three beds that occupied the room. But it wasn't the morning sunlight that caught his eye, it was the one who was sleeping silently under the thin covers.

Bertolt felt his heart fly into his chest as his still adjusting eyes focused on Annie Leonhart. Annie was sleeping with her back to the wall and her head was just poking out of the blanket. Her flawless golden hair was splayed out across her face, coming to an end at the bottom of her snow white cheeks. Bertolt felt a strange but familiar urge to stroke her hair back and tuck it behind her ear as she usually did. However he already knew what her reaction would be to such a gesture. Annie had never been the most 'huggy' of people and he doubted that would have changed over the course of a single night.

The giant boy climbed out of his bed and was about to open the door to go downstairs and prepare some breakfast when he heard Annie stir from her slumber. He watched as her eyes slowly opened revealing the icy blue colour he so adored. Bertolt gazed into her eyes. _I wish she would let me hold her, hug her… maybe even. _He stopped mid thought before it became an image that would undoubtedly make him blush.

''Good morning Annie.'' Bertolt whispered as he tip-toed his way over to her bedside. He knew it was a grave mistake to wake Reiner before his body clock.

''Yeah.'' She said in a surprisingly gentle and soft tone. A tone that almost made Bertolt faint. Oh how he wanted to run up to her and confess his feelings until he was blue in the face, but when the timid giant was finally ready to give his heart to her it would be too late. Far too late.''Today's the day right?'' Annie yawned.

''You're right, we best get Reiner up and head to the recruitment office before it's too late.'' Bertolt pointed to his best friend who was passionately hugging his pillow.

''Have fun with that.'' Annie whispered and before Bertolt could reply Annie leaped out of bed and silently rushed across the room, she stood in the open doorway for a second before slamming it shut as hard as she could.

Reiner instantly jumped out of bed and landed on the floor. ''What-What's happening!? Did they find us?'' Reiner's eyes were frantically searching the room to find the source of the noise. Finally they settled on Bertolt who was still standing over Annie's bed and instantly a fog of anger descended on his face. ''YOU ARE DEAD BERTOLT HOOVER!'' Reiner yelled in a booming voice that shook the floorboards. Bertolt simply sighed before explaining the situation to the seething mass of teenage muscle in front of him.

*Six hours later*

The baking sun beat down on the recruits as they stood to attention. Annie was standing with her hands behind her back focusing entirely on displaying an expression of utter boredom. Her concentration doubled whenever the looming instructor Keith Shardis walked by her, she needed to make a good impression if she was to make it into the military police and continue her investigation.

Shardis was a tall man with tanned skin and golden eyes, there wasn't a single strand of hair on his face which Annie guessed was due to stress. It was common knowledge that Keith Shardis was the former commander of the Survey Corps, he devised and lead a mission that if successful would have given humanity its first settlement outside of the Walls. But by looking at his current position Annie could speculate how well it went.

Annie was dressed in the standard training corp uniform: a white T-shirt under her brown jacket. She had managed to get her hooded jacket under her uniform for a sense of comfort as she faced off against Keith Shardis. Across the back of her jacket was the universally recognised symbol of the training corps, two swords crossed over a shield. Annie also donned a brown skirt over a pair of light grey trousers.

As Shardis walked by her he leaned over her, he was far taller than Annie and his shadow spread over her entire body. That alone would have been enough to give most recruits second thoughts about enlisting but combined with the infamous glare that went with his inspection no one would have blamed Annie for cracking. But Annie's expression didn't even falter. After a few seconds he broke his stare and gave her an approving nod before moving on to the next unlucky teen.

Once he was out of earshot Annie let out a small sigh, she had done a good job of impressing Shardis which would surely earn her some points to help her gain entry into the Military Police. Even though he was gone Annie kept her form, she knew that Shardis wasn't the only one watching. Standing to her full height, maintaining her expression of icy solitude and not making eye contact with anyone else.

A few minutes later Annie hear a strange noise, it sounded as if someone had taken a bite out of something. Before she could stop herself Annie had already turned along with most of the regiment to find the source of such a disturbance. Shardis dropped a short boy with a buzz cut and slowly walked towards the culprit.

Standing in front of him was a girl with long brown hair and what appeared to be a boiled potato in her hand. The roar of Shardis' voice brought her to salute and give her name.

As Annie turned back to facing the horizon she noticed something or someone in the corner of her vision. Someone that gave her that strange feeling in her chest. A feeling she hated for its confusing nature as much as she liked for the elation it caused. She saw the green eyed boy standing only a few feet away. In the past she had only seen him from a distance thus making any detailed observation impossible. Annie didn't notice as her snow white cheeks turning a coral pink until a girl with ash grey hair standing next to her elbowed her in the side. She leaned closer to make sure Shardis didn't hear her.

''He is pretty cute.''

The abruptness of the statement made Annie's pink cheeks momentarily burn a fiery red. She tore her gaze away from the boy hoping that Bertolt and Reiner hadn't seen her blush. Her sudden and stuttered movements caused the girl to giggle.

''It's okay I won't tell anyone, I promise. I'm Mina by the way, Mina Carolina.'' Annie didn't even glance in her direction. ''Oh the silent type then?'' Mina's voice was so friendly and hopelessly optimistic it made Annie feel ill.

Mina had a point though. No matter how hard she tried Annie couldn't shift the boy from her thoughts, she struggled to pull her eyes away from him. If anything it was more frustrating than anything else. Whenever she did find herself looking at she would hear her father's words echo in her head. _Don't let them close to you little Ann. They will hurt you! _However Annie was a curious girl-as a child she would constantly ask her father questions about every subject that entered her still growing mind. It would often get her into trouble but Annie would only be satisfied once she had the answer.

And now here she was, she was stuck far from home and far from her answers. Annie needed to investigate these feelings if she was to find a way of dealing with them. She needed to investigate the boy with the jade green eyes. There was just one problem. Annie wasn't the most sociable of people and she knew this but luckily for her Reiner would give her the perfect opportunity to examine the boy who made Annie Leonhart blush.


	3. Memories of a sunrise

**A/N:This chapter is an important one and thus I put a lot of extra effort into it so I hope you enjoy it. This chapter is about a certain blond girl's past and a fateful encounter with an angry green eyed boy. I hope you enjoy it as I have big BIG plans ahead for this story. **

**Please do leave a review as it will help me make the next chapter better for you guys. As a writer getting feedback from your readers is just brilliant, seeing a new review number is just the best! So anyway enough of me begging for feedback. Please read on and enjoy!**

* * *

Annie had always been an early-bird, ever since she was old enough to walk Annie had always been up at the crack of dawn ready to face the new day and the training it brought with gusto. She would usually wake long before the streaks of orange light heralded the warmth of the morning. However now she was in the military Annie wanted nothing more than to sleep until the sun was high in the sky.

It was only the third day of training but to Annie and many of the others it felt like it had been weeks. Shardis was a cruel instructor who would marvel as his students fell to the ground from exhaustion one after another. On the first day Shardis had ordered that everyone grab their equipment and run for ten miles before heading back to the training grounds, that alone had been enough to send some of the recruits packing to work the wastelands instead of face three years of torture at the hands of this man. The second day brought yet more back breaking running, Annie had nearly passed out at one point but through some supernatural power she somehow managed to push ahead.

Annie was used to training hard, she had been trained since she was could kick a tree stump, but this was different. She knew that this would be difficult and trying but Annie wasn't prepared for the sheer exhaustion she would be faced with on a daily basis. More than anything Annie wanted to go home, she wanted to go home and train with her father, not be ordered about by some cruel man with no hair. But she couldn't, Annie was stuck here for the foreseeable future and she hated it.

That night Annie sat up on her bed, many of the other recruits had paired up however being as unsociable as she was there was no way anyone would dare try and share a bed with Annie, who was quickly developing a reputation as being the 'ice-queen.' On the second night a tall girl called Ymir had tried to convince her to sleep somewhere else so she could have the bed to herself, Annie sent her packing with a warning and a bruised lip and although she was forced to run ten laps and skip dinner Annie was glad that she had the entire bed to herself.

She had been trying for hours to get some sleep but whenever she lay down on her lumpy mattress her thoughts always turned to the painful day that was to come when the morning bell shattered the peace of the new dawn. Despite her best efforts Annie couldn't get a wink of sleep and her growling stomach was the final straw, there was no way she was going to get any sleep now. Deciding that lying about and doing nothing was a waste of time Annie got out of bed and went outside to do some morning warm ups in hope of preparing for some of the discomfort to come.

Annie quickly and silently hoped out of bed, changed into her uniform and tied her hair back into a messy bun before heading out.

Upon opening the door to the barracks Annie shivered at the cold air. As she walked out on to the landing of the doom Annie could faintly make out the first flickers of yellow and orange that signified the arrival of the morning sun. Annie guessed that she had about half an hour before the morning bell woke everyone else up, she had half an hour by herself. _Well any time is better than no time. _Annie thought to herself. _Besides today we're starting our unarmed combat. _Annie was already a master at hand-to-hand combat so she wasn't worried about struggling in the class. With that Annie started jogging laps around the courtyard, after the third lap Annie's mind started to wander, looking up at the dawn brought memories back to her and they were some of the happiest memories in her life. They were the memories of when she met Reiner, Bertolt and Marcel.

* * *

''Annie, I need you to be on your best behaviour. Okay?'' Annie looked up to her father as he pulled his hood over his head, his voice was stern and deeper than usual.

''But what if I don't like them?'' She asked pulling at his sleeve as rain trickled down her nose and cheeks.

''That doesn't matter!'' He shouted much to his daughter's surprise. He knelt down in the rain and clamped his hands down on her shoulders. ''You don't have a choice Annie.'' The strength with which he held his daughter started to hurt little Annie. ''Now that your mother is gone we have to do this.'' It had been a few weeks since the death of his dear wife but to Annie's father the pain was still raw.

Being only a little girl hearing her father talk with such anger, sadness and even fear was too much to take in. Annie was still too young to fully understand what had happened to her mother, it still felt like a horrible dream. Tears quickly formed in her eyes, she pried her father's hands off of her shoulders and ran into the forests that surrounded them.

Annie's father watched as she ran away from him, it was a sight no father wanted to see but he knew just how desperate their situation was. ''Annie...When will you learn?'' He loved his daughter with every fiber of his being, he would have stood between an army of Titans and his little girl if it meant she could be safe and happy. He never expected that his own daughter would be chosen for such a mission, upon learning from the masked figures that Annie showed enough promise to be chosen for the attack on the Walls Annie's mother and father had broken down in tears. A couple of days later Annie Leonhart shifted into a Titan for the first time and while the masked figure were impressed with her abilities, all Torin Leonhart could do was cry and grieve over the loss of his wife. They told him that Annie's memories of her first shift would be blurry and distorted, only after years of training would the truth become clear to her. ''Annie…''

Annie ran, she had no idea where she running but never in her life had she heard her father speak with such weight and anger. Her shoulders still ached from his iron like grip. ''What did I do? Why is dad angry with me?'' After waking from her first shift Annie had been told that her mother had been killed defending their village from attacking Titans, she was sad of course, she was absolutely heartbroken but she had no idea what had really happened to Ilya Leonhart.

She was still sprinting through the forest for reasons she didn't have, it was all she could do to get away from the man that had just hurt her. Annie's mind was so filled with questions that she didn't see the low hanging tree branch until she ran right into it sending her into a distorted sleep.

* * *

Annie slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she was a pair of hazy grey eyes staring down at her. ''H-hello. My name is Bertolt.'' Whispered the owner of the smoky eyes. Panic flooded through Annie's veins, she hated people being too close to her face so waking up in a place she didn't know with someone's face only a couple of inches away from her own was more than enough to make her panic. Annie sat up as if a lightning bolt had been shot up her spine, she moved with such speed that the boy had no time to get out of her way and with a mighty 'thud' they smacked their heads together.

''Ow! What was that for?'' Said the boy as he soothed the purple bruise that was quickly forming on his forehead.

''I don't like it when people get too close to my face, it freaks me out.'' Annie mumbled looking down at the ground.

''B-but I think you have a pretty face.'' Bertolt whispered. Annie's eyes quickly widened at the comment, she turned her head looked into the woods to hide the dusting of pink that had risen on her cheeks. Both of them sat in silence with Annie refusing to meet his eyes, he was about to make a comment on her nose that would likely have cost him a tooth when a boy with short brown hair emerged from the thicket and jumped on Bertolt's back.

''Hey who's your girlfriend Bertie?'' The new comer chuckled.

Bertolt was taken back by the question and fell backwards on his friend, crushing him underneath his larger figure. Bertolt quickly stood and looked down at the boy. ''S-she isn't my girlfriend Marcel!''

''Annie right?'' Yet another new voice, this time it belonged to a boy with golden hair and a large smile.

Upon hearing her name Annie looked directly at the blond boy and asked in voice that made Bertolt jump slightly. ''How do you know my name?''

''Your fath-'' Bertolt never had a chance to finish before the blond boy, who Annie noticed was just as strong as he looked, pulled Bertolt into a crushing headlock.

''Your dad carried you here in his arms, he said you were very tired but that we could be friends.'' The new boy said as he ran his balled fist through Bertolt's oak hair. ''Reiner's the name, a pleasure to meet you short stuff.'' For the first time in her life Annie felt as if she had friends, real friends that actually seemed to like her. The sight of Reiner scruffing up Bertolt's hair while Marcel clutched his sides laughing on the floor would always be one of the fondest memories she had and one of the only memories that didn't make her want to cry. The feeling was only amplified when Marcel launched himself at Reiner's back and although no one heard it Annie couldn't help but giggle.

* * *

The sun was now high above the ridge of mountains that encapsulated the military training grounds, bathing the yard in warming sunlight. Annie quickly noticed that she was no longer the only one up and about, people were starting to leave their dorms and make their way to the mess hall for breakfast. Annie could clearly see Bertolt's head sticking above the crowd of tired teens. _I guess it's helpful to have a friend who's so tall. _She said to herself as she made her way over to him after finishing one more lap.

''Good morning Annie.'' Bertolt said as he sat down with his tray of morning rations, which consisted of two small loafs of bread, some unappealing looking stew and a flagon of water.

Annie simply hummed in response and although it didn't look like it to those around her Annie was actually looking forward to today, she relished and appreciated any chance to practise her skills. It also gave her the opportunity to beat Reiner up, a hobby which she greatly enjoyed.

Bertolt took a large bite of his bread and after swallowing he leaned over to Annie. ''Are you looking forward to learning martial arts today?''

Annie nodded before taking a long sip of water. ''Reiner made a joke about my height yesterday so it gives me an excuse to beat him up.'' Bertolt looked over to Reiner who was sitting on the opposite side of the table. There was a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his head with each and every word Annie spoke.

''You know Annie it was just a joke, you don't need to beat me up over it.'' Reiner said trying to mask his fear. He knew from previous experiences that Annie would have no trouble at all with fighting someone who was larger and heavier than her, in fact she wouldn't have it any other way.

''I don't need to beat you.'' Annie paused to take a bite of her own bread. ''I just want to.'' Without waiting for a reply she stood up and made her way to leave the hall and towards the training fields when from the corners of her icy blue eyes she noticed the boy with the green eyes staring at her.

* * *

''LISTEN UP YOU WORTHLESS PILES OF TITAN FEED!'' Shardis was standing on a wooden stage in front of rows of trembling soldiers in training. ''Today I am going to watch as you beat the living hell out of each other! Bott! Get up here.'' He yelled. A boy with a face dotted with freckles and parted black hair hurried up onto the stage and nervously made his way over to the instructor. Shardis then handed him a small wooden dagger.

''What do you want me to do with this sir?'' He asked staring at the knife in his hands.

''Isn't it obvious?'' Marco shook his head. ''ATTACK ME!'' He roared. Marco gulped before lunging at the towering figure, without even blinking Shardis reached out and grabbed the hand Marco was holding the blade with and flipped the boy clear over his head. Marco landed on the floor where a grunt of pain escaped his gritted teeth.

''This is what I expect of each and everyone of you! Find a partner and take it in turns.'' Everyone in the yard was surprised by how quiet Shardis' voice was. ''AND YOU WON'T BE STOPPING UNTIL IT'S PERFECT!'' His now booming voice made several trainees jump.

Annie sighed and looking up at the sky, this was not what she had been expecting. Perhaps she had been wishing for too much when she wanted a chance to practise her own style and now she was forced to learn this mediocre technique. Annie hated being bored and the thought of going through the motions of this dull fighting style with someone who wasn't even going to try sounded just that. Boring. In an attempt to find something more entertaining than playing 'soldier' she decided to sneak off and practise her own fighting style by herself. As she was headed off to the woods that surrounded the camp Reiner decided to try and push her buttons by throwing none other than the boy with the green eyes in front of her.

* * *

For the first time she could get a proper look him compared to the past encounters. He was tall by her standards, his dark brown hair was strewn across his forehead and his eyes were a light olive green just like she pictured. Annie also noticed the look of worry on his face as he clutched a wooden dagger in both his hands.

''You know what to do right?'' He said in a voice that sent a small shiver up Annie's spine. Annie simply responded by raising her fists just above her headline and resting one of her feet behind her. She had assumed her soon to be signature fighting stance as if were the most natural thing in the world.

''Go on Eren! Get her!'' Reiner cheered. _Eren...not a bad name, he doesn't seem too bad. _She thought to herself.

All of a sudden Eren rushed forward to make a jab at her left side, Annie quickly shifted her body and effortlessly dodged the attack, but she wasn't done. She swung her right leg out like a wrecking ball and in a painful sounding 'thud' their legs collided. Eren instantly fell to the ground clutching his bruised leg. Annie let out a long but quiet breath, this was one of her favourite techniques that she had been taught.

''Can I go now?'' Annie asked as she tucked her bangs behind her ears.

''Not until he lets go of the knife.'' Reiner replied in an authoritative tone. Annie sighed and turned to face Eren was quickly limping away.

''Annie! We're supposed to do it the way the instructor showed us!'' He pleaded to no avail.

Hours later the sky had started to turn a faded red as it descended towards the horizon, Eren was covered from head to toe in bruises of various size and colour and there were two small sticks of tissue paper sticking from his previously bleeding nose. His adoptive sister Mikasa was essentially spoon feeding him as his memory drifted back to his first encounter with Annie Leonhart.

*Two hours earlier*

Eren slowly and rather painfully picked himself up from the stony floor for what felt like and could very well be the hundredth time. Yet no matter how many times he was thrown to the floor Eren somehow found the strength to stand up.

''Why do you keep getting up? You're not going to win.'' Annie asked with a hint of curiosity to her normally cold voice.

Eren wiped the blood from his nose before answering. ''If I don't fight I can't win!'' Annie sighed and rushed forward in a veritable blur of golden hair and blue eyes, Eren tiredly raised his arms in futile defence. Before Eren could even blink Annie raised her left knee and drove it into his abdomen causing Eren to double over coughing out what little air he had left in his lungs. That's when raised her hand and brought it crashing down on the back of his neck.

Minutes later Eren's eyes shot open and he stared up into the late afternoon sky. ''Ahh good you're awake.'' Annie made sure to hide her slight concern.

''What did you do to me?'' Eren weakly croaked as he sat up.

Annie looked to the floor as she answered afraid of his response. _Wait. Why do I care what he says? _

''I...knocked you out.'' She paused. ''I guess I should say sorry.''

Despite the immense pain in his legs Eren stood right up and faced Annie with a sparkle in his eyes. ''Are you kidding me!? That's awesome!'' Annie's eyes widened at the compliment and she too turned to face him.

Upon seeing the child-like grin on his face Annie had to turn back around to hide to faint blush that had flared up on her cheeks. ''It isn't that great.''

''Oh yes it is! I'm way bigger than you and yet you still threw me around like I was a sack of flour! How did you do it?'' Questions and questions he threw at her about her fighting, they should have been too much for her since she hated being the center of attention. But for some reason she didn't mind the barrage of questions and inquires he asked, in fact she quite liked it.

After several minutes Annie couldn't help but laugh at Eren's overly enthusiastic nature. ''Okay, okay if you think my fighting is so good…'' She looked down and tucked a single bang of hair behind her ear. ''Then maybe I could teach you?'' Annie was smiling, really smiling, not some fake mask to get her through the conversations with Mina. A real smile.

It only took one look at her smile for a single thought to engulf Eren's mind. _Her smile is so pretty…_

''Eren?'' Annie asked waving her had infront of his face.

''Oh yeah, yeah that'd be amazing! Thanks Annie.'' Eren attempted and failed to hide his nervousness. Annie nodded and with that both of the headed back to their respective dorms both were grateful for the time they had got to share with each other. But someone had been watching them as they laughed, smiled and enjoyed each other's company.

Bertolt Hoover watched as Annie walked with her head held high and a small, stunning and beautiful smile on her lips. Whatever Eren had done or said had made Annie smile in a way he hadn't seen in years and it only took him a hour to do so. The feeling made his heart sink in his chest.


	4. Learning to love a monster

The problem Annie had was that her father had taught her to fight and not how to interact with other people. She had only three friends in her life and one of them was dead.

''Hey Annie, you're friends with Reiner right?'' Mina asked, placing her tray of food on the table. Annie noticed that her cheeks were slightly pink around her jawline. _Maybe she's ill?_ Annie thought.

''Mina are you feeling alright? Your cheeks are red.'' Annie asked. Mina's eyes widened as she realised that she was blushing. Annie was still confused. She simply didn't understand the concept of love and affection. Annie was still questioning Mina's health when she noticed Reiner walk by their table.

''Hey, Reiner.'' Mina whispered. Reiner barely heard her near inaudible voice.

''Oh hey Mina what's up?'' He asked in a friendly voice.

''Oh not much.'' She said, Annie noticed her cheeks were turning redder. ''Reiner I was wondering if you could help me during hand-to-hand combat training tomorrow.''

''Of course Mina I would be happy to practise you.'' He said completely unaware of Mina's now fiery cheeks. Annie's clear blue eyes widened as a thought popped into her head. _Reiner makes Mina blush! Just like Eren made me blush!_ This was her chance to investigate her feelings even further. The bell rang just as Annie had her epiphany, everyone stood up; making their way to their respective barracks. Annie jogged to catch up to Mina who had a wide grin on her face. Annie had no idea how to express her feelings in a way that didn't end up with a fight. However Annie was surrounded by people who did she just needed to ask for their help. Something Annie was not good at.

''Mina could I ask you something?'' Annie asked, tapping her on the shoulder. Mina broke out of her daydream and looked at Annie, a confused look on her face.

''Oh of course, what can I do for you?'' Mina was quite surprised by Annie's behavior, it was very unlike her to ask anything of anyone. Annie thought if this was a good idea _don't let anyone close to you Annie _Her father's words echoed in her head. _It couldn't hurt to let one or two people close right?_ Annie thought, she needed to understand these feelings the sheer curiosity was to annoy her.

''Mina. How can you tell if you're in love with someone?'' Mina tripped over her own feet when she heard the question that came from Annie's lips. Annie Lenodhart's lips. The ice queen of the 104th training corps. Mina picked herself up from the dusty stone field brushing the dirt from her skirt. She stared at Annie, trying to think of an answer that didn't involve bursting into laughter because as she had seen laughing at Annie is a bad idea.

''Well um you...er feel...'' Mina stuttered trying to formulate an understandable answer. ''You want to be around them all the time and when you are with them you can't help smiling and blushing. Oh and your heart races when you are close to them.'' Mina finally managed to say after several unsuccessful attempts. Annie nodded in reply and said thank you to Mina before rushing off to bed to reflect on her newly acquired information. That night Annie spent a long time turning and tossing in her bed trying to make sense of Mina's description of love. _Does that mean I love Yaeger? _She silently questioned herself. She concluded that she needed to conduct more research on Eren to confirm if her feelings were what Mina had described. _ I said that I would teach him how to fight. That is the perfect opportunity to figure out what is going on! _She said to herself. The corners of Annie's lips curled into a small smile as she realised that she get to spend more time with Eren and his lush green eyes.

The next morning Mina wouldn't stop staring at Annie as she ate her breakfast. _ Why would she ask such an odd question?_ The ashen haired girl thought to herself. _She wouldn't ask such a question unless…_ and then it hit her. She leaned in close to Annie's ear and whispered ''So who is it then Annie?'' Annie's eyes shot open at the question.

''What are you talking about, Mina?'' Annie replied trying to hide the embarrassment in her normally flat voice.

''Who is it that you love Annie? I know it's someone or else you wouldn't have asked such a strange question last night.'' Mina said proudly. Annie was about to make a comment about her father reading her fairytale stories and how unrealistic to idea of 'love at first sight' was when she noticed Eren walking out into the courtyard. Annie immediately stood up and walked after him leaving Mina with a look of astonishment on her face as she watched the blonde chase after Eren.

Annie walked after Eren. She was greatly looking forward to teaching him. She was about to ask him to wait up when she saw her greatest obstacle walking with him. It was Mikasa Ackerman. Annie had realised the night before that Mikasa was going to be a problem since she and Eren were almost always together. She was fiercely protective over him and she would not hesitate to break the arms of anyone who hurt him. _How am I supposed to get him away from Mikasa? _She asked herself and as if on cue her answer strolled right past her.

''Jean.'' She called over to the light brown haired boy who was enviously watching Eren and Mikasa.

''What do you want Annie?'' He replied clearly frustrated by the sight of Eren talking to Mikasa.

''Mikasa said that she would partner up with you for hand-to-hand for two weeks if you stop fighting with Eren.'' Annie said. She mentally patted herself on the back for coming up with such a clever lie on such short notice. Jean's eyes lit up and a huge smile spread from cheek to cheek as he ran over to Mikasa. While Jean asked Mikasa about martial arts practice Annie crept up behind Eren and whispered in his ear.

''Follow me quickly before Mikasa notices.'' Eren turned his head and saw Annie jogging off towards the training field. Eren looked back at Mikasa who was explaining to a distraught Jean that she had made no such agreement. Seizing the opportunity to be free from his overprotective sibling he ran after her. When he caught up to her a single thought flashed through his head _Maybe if I try hard today Annie will smile like she did last time. _Annie turned around with a small smile on her flawless skin that made Eren's heart race.

''Shall we begin, Eren?'' Annie asked, her azure gaze locked on Eren. Before he could open his mouth to reply Annie rushed forward and swept one of her legs around in a wide arc, Eren fell back on the stony field. He looked up at Annie who was standing over him, her arms crossed.

''Get up.'' She said in a voice with no sympathy. By the time the day was done Annie would have said these words more times than she can care to count.

During the day, Annie put Eren though hours of exhausting training, yet no matter how hard Eren tried or how many times Annie demonstrated the technique, he always ended up on his ass. He did however marvel at every little thing she did, he loved watching her fight, even if she was fighting him. Watching her gracefully weave between his punches made his heart race even harder than the entire days worth of training. He watched her golden hair rush towards him as she kicked his ribs. No matter how many times he went down he would always get back up. Annie watched as Eren picked himself up yet again and assumed the position she had shown him. He was tired, more tired than he had ever been but he kept on getting up and fighting. Hot sticky blood trickled down a cut above his right eye obscuring his eyesight. Annie saw this and a sly smile grew on her sweating face. She weaved in and out of his blind spot, Eren desperately tried to keep up with her but she was too fast, a roundhouse kick coming from seemingly no where sent Eren to the floor. Annie watched as Eren tried to get back up, she could see tears forming in the far corners of his eyes, Annie's smile faded. _Maybe I was a bit too hard on him? _She thought to herself.

''Eren, are you okay?'' She asked, a hint of concern in her voice. Eren was about to reply when he fell over and landed on his badly bruised ribs. He cried out in pain as he coddled his stomach. Annie jogged over to him and pulled one his arms over her shoulders her other arm wrapping around his waist.

''Thanks Annie.'' He said through gritted teeth. Annie didn't reply. She never let people this close to her. She could smell the coppery blood on his face and the sweat pouring from his head. She looked down hoping her hair would cover her blushing cheeks. Eren on the other hand made no attempt to hide his reddening cheeks. He looked at her, he looked at her perfect golden hair, he looked at her small yet strong figure. He was so focused on her that he tripped over a small rock, as he fell Annie fell with him. The blond landed on Eren's chest and looked up to find Eren looking directly at her. She looked back at him and time seemed to freeze around them. _How does he make me feel this way?_ She thought to herself, Annie gazed into his green eyes, she wanted to look at them forever, she wanted to lose herself in those pools of olive green. In her mind she heard her father shouting at her to get up and leave him on the floor but she didn't care. Annie's face was now red as her blush deepened. _My heart is racing and I'm blushing... Just like Mina said._ But before she could complete the thought she heard the obnoxious laughter of Reiner who was watching from the mess hall. Annie broke out of her trance, she quickly stood up to make it look like she had beaten Eren to the floor. She kicked his ribs hoping to convince Reiner what was happening was not what he was thinking.

''Ow Annie what the hell was that for?'' He shouted from the ground. Annie silently walked off to the girls barracks, when she was at the door she cast a look back at Eren who was being carried off to the infirmary by Bertolt and Reiner, he looked over his shoulder and saw Annie, she mouthed a silent ''Sorry'' before going inside. Annie laid down on her bed and sighed, her heart was starting to slow down _Does this mean tha-_ She was mid thought when Mina's head popped up from the bunk below.

''So who is it Annie?'' She asked, she already knew the answer but she needed to hear it from Annie.

''What are you talking about?'' Annie said looking at Mina with a look of frustration on her face.

A large and devious smile spread across Mina's face as she leaned in and whispered. ''Who is the one you love? And this time you are not getting away.'' Annie looked at her trying to understand her question.

''No one Mina, now leave me alone. I'm tired after a long days sparring with Eren.'' At the sound of his name Mina's smile widened even more.

''I knew you had a thing for him, I just needed to hear it from you. Goodnight Ann, you have a long day of training with Mr. Suicidal Blockhead tomorrow.'' With that she winked at Annie and disappeared under her bed covers. Annie had a confused look on her face _I didn't say anything, so what is she going on about?_ She sighed and layed back on her bed, she was tired and frustrated about what had happened earlier. For a brief moment she had let someone get break down her walls. When Eren had looked at her like that she had forgotten everything her father had said about _Not letting anyone close _and all the other crap he had filled her head with. The moon was slowly rising illuminating the training ground and as Annie gazed out of her small window by her bed she looked up to the star filled sky, she looked to the glowing moon and just before she fell into a dreamless sleep a thought latched itself to her mind, a thought that would stay there for the rest of her life_ I think I love Eren Yeager._

**This one was kinda tricky but I hope it was still good. Also thanks to everyone who has reviewed and followed and faved and just read this. I never expected over 200 view THANK YOU so much you all make my day :D**

**p.s Thanks to my proofreaders once again **

**p.p.s I might change the rating of this story in the future as I am thinking of including some...mature content ;)**

**p.p.p.s This story has been heavily inspired by another ErenxAnnie story called 'Inside the Red zone'' By ****Euregatto****please please check this out it is AMAZING **

**p.p.p.p.s I am thinking of starting a BertoltxYmir story soon because that is also one of my top OTPs so keep an eye out for that. Oh and sorry for all the PPs XD Love ya and see you next time! **


	5. The Power He Saw

The first thing Annie saw when she woke up were a pair of dark grey eyes staring at her. Panic flooded through her body, as she launched her fist towards the eyes from above.

''OW!'' Mina yelped as she clutched her now bleeding nose. A wave a guilt passed over the blond as she scrambled to help.

''Sorry... I just don't like it when people get close to me.'' Annie replied dabbing Mina's nose with a cloth. Despite the pain Mina flashed a devilish smile.

''Do you like it when Eren is close to you?'' She whispered. Annie's cheeks flushed red with a mix of embarrassment and anger. She pushed Mina off her bed and watched as she fell on the wooden floor with a loud _thud. _Annie leaped off her bed and gracefully landed next to the crying girl.

''Who told you?'' She demanded putting her right foot on Mina's chest.

''Annie calm down, you're hurting her!'' She heard Krista shout from the doorway.

''Re-Rein-Reiner'' Mina croaked from under Annie's foot. Rage flooded through her body, she wasn't quite sure why but the thought of Reiner sharing the details of her _moment _with Eren made her angry beyond words. Without saying another word Annie stormed out of the barracks, she was going to find Reiner and make him pay.

''Annie?'' She turned and saw Bertolt jogging towards her. ''What are you doing?'' He asked, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.

''Where is Reiner?'' She asked in a voice laced with anger.

''Oh... um he is still asleep I think. Why do you need him?'' He replied his cheeks turning a coral pink.

''I am going to kill him.'' She paused and gave the boy a sceptical look ''Why are you blushing?''

He sighed and took a step back ''An-Annie you- ar...um still in your night clothes.'' He looked down at his feet. Annies cheeks immediately turned a burning red, she turned on her heels and went back inside of her dorm.

Reiner limped into the mess hall with a black eye. He gritted his teeth in pain as he sat down next to Bertolt.

''This is what you get for pissing her off.'' Bertolt nudged his side. Reiner moaned in pain and started to eat his soup in silence.

After beating Reiner half to death, Annie ran into the forest in an attempt to find some peace from the noise of the training fields. She would often sneak into the forest when she lost her temper at someone. Annie rarely lost her temper. Weaving between the autumn trees, she made her way towards her favorite part of the forest. Annie had found it after she broke Reiners wrist when he made a joke about her height, for some reason Reiner loved making jokes about her stature despite the pain it meant. The river ran directly through the forest and into a large lake. Crystal clear water flowed quickly downstream. Annie plunged her hands into the icy water of the river and sighed at the immediate relief. Blood washed from the cuts on her knuckles turning the water a rosy pink. _Why did that annoy me so much? I shouldn't care... yet I do. _She thought.

''What are you doing here?'' Annie turned her head and saw Eren looking down at her from a nearby hill. Her ocean blue eyes widened when she saw him. He was dressed in nothing but his light brown shorts. She reluctantly pulled her eyes from his toned abs and looked down at her hands.

''Washing my hands, what does it look like?'' She said in a voice full of sarcasm. ''Anyway what are you doing here? Isn't it breakfast?'' Annie asked as she pulled her hands from the water.

''Me and some of the others had our breakfast earlier and now we are going for a swim.'' He pointed up stream towards a large rock upon which a bald boy who was boasting of his power until Jean came up behind him and pushed him into the freezing water below. Annie looked back at Eren who was looking directly at her. Heat started to rise on Annie's white cheeks as she gazed into his lush green eyes. She wanted to stay there forever, looking into his lime green eyes.

''Well, well, well.'' Mina shouted, her voice echoing through the forest. Annie's head rotated and looked up at the girl. Her blush intensified as she realised that everyone had made their way over from the pool to watch her and Eren.

''Mina what are you doing here?'' Eren demanded, he was clearly annoyed that yet again his moment with Annie was spoiled.

''I wasn't going to miss the chance to see all the boys go for a swim.'' She giggled. By now Annie was running back out of the woods away from all the prying eyes. Annie made it to the edge of the woods when she ran directly into Bertolt.

''Annie are you okay?'' the tall boy asked looking down at the panting girl.

''I am fine Bertolt, I just want to be alone.'' She snapped. Bertolt stepped back slightly in offense. He was used to being hurt by Annie's words but he still felt the venom in her voice. ''Sorry Bertolt I'm just in a bad mood.'' She added after seeing the hurt on his face. They stood there in silence for what felt like hours. The sound of rustling leaves broke the uneasy peace. Bertolt looked over into the woods and saw Eren running through the thicket after Annie. A wave of anger and jealousy washed over him.

''Did Eren put you in a bad mood?'' The question caught Annie off guard, she looked up at Bertolt, her ocean blue eyes wide with surprise and confusion.

''No of course not. What makes you think that?'' She asked, her gaze never leaving his ashen eyes. Bertolt looked back at her. He wanted to tell her that she was getting too close to Eren. He wanted to tell her to focus on the job at hand. He wanted to tell her that he could make her smile more than Eren. But he couldn't, Bertolt looked at Annie, his eyes filled with sorrow. When Eren noticed them he broke into a sprint. Bertolt took one last look at Annie. He looked into her azure eyes and the corners of his lips curled into a small smile.

''Hey Annie! Wait up!'' Erens voice came booming through the woods. Annie glanced back at Eren, however. When she turned back to ask Bertolt to answer her question he was already running back to the mess hall. Eren burst into the clearing, he walked over to Annie who refused to meet his eye.

''Annie are you okay? Your hands are bleeding.'' He asked with a hint of concern. Annie looked down at her hands, crimson blood was dripping from the cuts in her hands which had reopened.

''I am fine Eren. I will see you later.'' Her voice was void of all emotion, Eren was about to offer to walk her to the infirmary but by the time he worked up the courage to ask her Annie was already jogging to the nurses office. Eren shrugged his shoulders and made his way back to the pool to find Jean and make him pay for stealing his bread the night before.

''LISTEN UP TITAN BAIT'' Sharids yelled across the courtyard. ''TODAY WE WILL BE SKIPPING HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT.'' He paused, disappointment filled Eren. He loved practising his fighting skills with Annie, he still wasn't quite sure how he felt about her but whenever he saw her smile he felt his heart race. ''INSTEAD I WILL EVALUATING YOU PIGS AS YOU ATTEMPT TO PERFORM COMPLEX MANEUVERS IN THE FOREST. WHILE LOOKING OUT FOR MANIKINS TO ATTACK. REMEMBER I WILL BE MARKING YOUR WORK TODAY, NOW MOVE OUT MAGGOTS .'' Many of the trainees sighed, using the vertical maneuvering gear was physically and mentally demanding. Annie sighed out of frustration, she was still annoyed about how things turned out with Eren and Bertolt and now she wouldn't be able to practise with him today. In a matter of minutes all of the trainees were suited up in their gear and heading towards the forest. Annie walked behind the main group of trainees, she didn't like large groups, being surrounded by people who were far taller than her made her uncomfortable. She looked up from her feet and saw Eren walking ahead with Reiner who was trying to stop him from attacking Jean who was nibbling on the bread he stole from Eren. Annie allowed herself a small giggle as she watched Reiner pick Eren up over his shoulder and run off into the distance. _He is such an idiot _She thought, Annie didn't notice her snowy cheeks turning a delicate pink.

Wind rushed through Annie's golden hair as she gracefully snaked between the towering trees that surrounded her. She fired her hooks into the branch of a nearby tree, Annie gave one big blast of her gas and she swung under the tree branch and into a small clearing. Her icy eyes scanned the area in search of her prey, it didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. A large wooden titan was standing between two large trees only about a hundred meters in front of her. _This is too easy_. She thought as she raced to the tree on the left of the titan. Annie fired her hook into a protruding branch high above the titan. As she reeled herself higher; in order to leap down onto the sand bag on its neck. Annie noticed a figure entering the clearing she was just in. It was Eren. He landed on a large tree and watched as Annie made her descent on the titans neck. As Annie reached the top the tree she elegantly pirouetted in mid air making Eren's jaw drop in sheer awe. As she righted herself Annie caught a glimpse of Erens face, She gave him one of her rare smiles just as she started her descent. Annie focused all of her attention in the pale sandbag on the back to the neck of the wooden titan. _This is my chance to show him my strength! _She thought. Annie fired out both hooks into the trees either side of the model titan, Annie turned into a golden blur as she wound herself in using the added momentum of her wires to accelerate her fall. Mere meters from the titan, she once again twisted her body into a full spin. Her swords connected with the soft fabric of the sandbag, tearing it easily. Annie's blade cut through the sand like a hot knife through butter but she didn't stop. Her sword not only cut clean through the sandbag but the wooden neck of the titan. It's oak head fell from its body and shattered on the forest floor. Eren watched, his eyes wide with a mix of shock of awe. _She is so strong. How can she do that? _Annie pulled out of her rapid descent and came to a stop on the branch above Eren.

''What do you think of that?'' She asked proudly. Eren took a while to reply he was still trying to process what he just saw.

''Th-tha-that was...the most AMAZING THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!'' He yelled. Annie's cheeks turned bright red and she turned her head over to the decapitated titan to admire her work and to hide her blush. ''I knew you were an amazing fighter but I had no idea you had such strength!'' He hollered. Annie looked back at Eren, her heart was racing from a mix of exhaustion and something else she was still learning to understand. A gentle breeze blew through the trees causing Annie's hair to gently flutter in the small gust, both Annie and Eren were stuck in a trance. _She is so beautiful like this. _He gazed into her cerulean orbs and she returned his stare. _What do I do now?_ She was worried, sweat began to form in her palms _Should I say something?_ She considered. Annies opened her mouth to tell Eren to get moving before the someone saw them but she never caught the chance.

''You look really pretty like this Annie.'' The words hit her in the chest like a cannonball, her entire face was engulfed by fire as her blush reached up her cheeks. She had no idea how to react in this situation, her heart was pounding in her chest. Annie blinked at him in sheer bewilderment. Eren didn't realise what he had said until after Annie turned on her heels and flew off into the forest. _AAHHH YOU IDIOT! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT TO HER? _He mentally scolded himself as he chased after her.

''Annie please let me explain!'' He called after her. Annie looked back and saw him chasing her, she had no idea what to say or do in this situation. _What do I do? What do I do? What do I- _ She never got to finish her thought.

She pulled the trigger to call in her wire but nothing happend. Annie had pushed her gear to hard when she struck clean through the titans neck. Pure horror spread across her face as she started to plummet towards the forest floor and her death. Eren looked on as Annie began to fall, he noticed her wires trailing behind her. _What is she doing? _Then it dawned on him. _Her gear is broken!_ ''ANNIE!'' He roared, Eren rushed after her pushing his own gear to its limits. _I have to make it! I have to save her!_ _Please don't die Annie!'' _As if she could read his thoughts Annie looked up at him as she tumbled through the canopy. Shiny tears were forming in the corners of her pale blue eyes, her lips curved to form a small yet sad smile. Eren screamed at the top of his lungs as he closed the distance between them. Eren reached out with his right hand and grasped her shoulder, without hesitation he pulled her close to him, shielding her body from the sharp limbs of the trees. That is when everything went black.

**Dun dun duuunn! What drama. This one was really fun to write. I just love writing about Annie doing awesome things XD. **

**Holy hamster holes over 400 views! A huge thanks to everyone who read this every view and review makes me ssooo happy. An even bigger thanks to my Friends Taymar, Evan and Leila who proofread this. **

**p.s Also do me a big favour and check out my friends Leila's story called ''Unrequited Resentment'' it is a JeanxEren story (a very popular shipping ;) ) and it is amazing. So see ya next time! **


	6. Do you hear it?

_EREN! YOU MUST SURVIVE! _His mother's screams echoed through his mind, Eren remembered everything from that day in all too gory detail. He remembered the face of the smiling titan as it picked his mum up from the rubble as she were a toy. He remembered the sight of it's disgusting mouth ripping his mother in two. _MUM! _

Eren's eyes shot open and he squinted at the bright light flooding into his vision. As he raised his arm to block the blinding light he felt a sharp stab of pain in his chest and shoulders. Through gritted teeth Eren turned his head in an attempt to find out where he was. As far as Eren could tell he was in a tree and he wasn't upside down. _Well that is good I suppose...ANNIE_ The memory of her falling through the trees burst into his mind, the sight of her tears send shivers of fear down his spine.

''Er-Eren?'' A small voice reached his ears. He looked down at his chest and all the fear and panic left his body, Annie was curled up into a ball on his chest, her face buried in the crook of her neck, tears streaming down her bruised cheeks.

''Annie are you okay? Say something please!'' He said brushing leaves and twigs from her back. Annie looked up at Eren as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

''Eren? What happened?'' She asked her voice a mere croak as she wiped a fresh set of tears from her cobalt eyes.

''Your gear malfunctioned and your firing mechanism stopped working, I caught just before you hit a tree.'' Eren explained, he noticed how her shoulders were shaking. _Should I do this? Screw it. What is the worst that could happen? _Eren rested his right hand on Annie's back, she flinched at his touch but Annie was too tired to protest. ''It's okay now you're safe now.'' He whispered, _even now she is still so beautiful _He thought to himself as he comforted the trembling girl. Annie wiped her blue eyes clean and looked up at her savior, a gentle and warming smile spread across his face and she felt all her pain disappear from her. That is when she noticed something shook Annie to her very core. Small column of steam were rising from a large gash in Eren's shoulder, he didn't seems to notice, all of his attention was on Annie. _That has to be gas escaping from his gear...right? He can't be. NO that is impossible! _

''Um Annie sorry to disturb you but could you move your leg please?'' His voice was a higher tone than before, Annie tore her gaze from the rising gas and looked down at her legs. Her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet. Her left knee was pushed up against Eren's crotch, in fact both of their bodies were intertwined like a piece of knotted string. Annie pushed herself up detaching herself from his body. She actually quite like being this close to him, feeling his hand on her back and her skin against his but she was still shaken up from their crash.

''Don't tell ANYONE I was crying or I will rip your teeth out and put them back in backwards. She said her icy tone returning to her. Annie leaned back against the tree trunk and lowered herself down onto a branch.

''It's okay, it will be our secret.'' He said giving her a goofy smile.

''Don't look at me like that.'' She snapped. ''I thought I was going to die...'' Annie paused and looked down at the forest floor. ''Thank you for saving me though Eren.'' Eren's cheeks flared up and he looked away rubbing the back of his head.

''Oh its..fine...we should get moving...yeah.'' He mumbled.

''If you hadn't noticed my gear is wrecked.'' She said, her voice laced with sarcasm. Eren was about to suggest that he carry her down to the in his arms when a flash of blond hair and an obnoxious laugh rushed towards them. Reiner was standing arms crossed on a tree branch above them, a wide grin on his face.

''Hey guys look what I found.'' He shouted into the woods. Jean, Mina, Krista and Ymir appeared behind him. Ymir broke out into hysterical laughter at the sight of Annie blushing.

''Its not what you think!'' Eren hollered back at them. Jean joined in with the laughing.

''Oh just wait until Mikasa hears about this!'' Jean called down to Eren.

''Don't. You. Dare.'' Eren's face was pale with fear, he knew Mikasa would overreact and probably blame Annie for this. Krista had to suppress a small giggle before she said in her trademarked calm and cute voice.

''Leave them alone. We don't know what happened here.'' She said pointing at Jean and Ymir who were still laughing like a pack of hyenas.

For the rest of the week everyone teased Eren over what happened in the woods, they left Annie alone out of fear but that didn't stop Mina from teasing her.

''LISTEN UP TITAN BAIT!'' Sharids yelled. It had been two weeks since Annie had literally fell into Eren's arms and most people had stopped teasing them over it, except for Mina of course. ''TODAY WE HAVE A SPECIAL EXERCISE!'' A wave of dread passed over the trainees. ''YOU WILL BE PAIRED UP WITH ANOTHER TRAINEE AND SENT TO RETRIEVE A FLAG ON THE OTHER SIDE OF ROSE PASS!'' The colour of everyone drained from there face. Rose pass was a formidable mountain range, infamous for its unpredictable weather and maze like caves. ''THE EXERCISE WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW. IT IS DESIGNED TO TEST YOUR RESOLVE AND YOUR TEAMWORK!'' Annie sighed, teamwork was not her strong point. ''HOOVER AND AKERMAN YOU ARE TEAM ONE. BRAUN AND KAROLINA TEAM TWO. ALERT AND KIRSTIEN TEAM THREE. SPRINGER AND BLOUSE TEAM FOUR YEAGER AND LEONHART TEAM FIVE. NOW MOVE OUT!'' Annie was a little relieved, granted she hated the idea of hiking through a blizzard but at least she got to spend sometime with Eren. In the distance Bertolt glared at Eren as he jogged over to Annie. _Great now he gets to spend more time with her _He thought to himself as walked over to Mikasa. Mina was ecstatic, she was going to spend at least two days alone with Reiner, she ran straight towards him, grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Krista who he deep in conversation with. Jean was disappointed, he was stuck with Armin Alert _Why couldn't I be with someone strong like Reiner or Mikasa. I will probably have to carry him up that mountain. _Little did he know that Armin already had plans for Jean. All of the teams stayed up late that night in preparation for the exercise. Armin dragged Jean to the classroom in order to study the many maps of Rose pass. Bertolt and Mikasa snuck into the store room to gauge what sort of supplies they would be provided with. Connie Springer and Sasha Blouse were raiding the kitchens to 'stock up on rations' as Sasha referred to it as. Mina and Reiner were packing extra blankets to try and keep warm, although Mina had thought of plenty of other ways to keep warm in the snow. Eren and Annie were sat in the mess hall going over their chosen route, they had taken the most detailed map from the classroom before Armin got it first.

''If we manage to reach this cave by sunset we can avoid the wind.'' Annie explained pointing to a small spot on the map. Eren nodded and examined the map.

''If it is going to snow we should try to head through the forest, it will make it easier to walk.'' Eren pointed to an area of heavy trees. Annie pondered the thought before agreeing with him.

''That will mean we will have to move slower and watch out for wolves but I am willing to take that risk, we can fight wolves but not an avalanche. She scoffed.

''Optimistic as usual I see.'' He laughed quietly. A thought burst into Annie's mind. _Why does this feel so right? _

''Annie are you okay?'' Eren asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

''I am fine, what makes you ask?'' She replied turning to face him.

''It's just um...your cheeks are red and I was wondering if you might be ill.'' If Annie's cheeks flared up even more, she snapped her head back towards the map.

''Once we reach the cave we can cut through this small canyon here.'' She pointed to the map in an attempt to change the subject. Eren simply laughed at her. Which was a big mistake.

*The next morning*

''EREN!'' At the sound of his name Eren turned his head to see Mikasa sprinting towards him. She came to a stop right in front of him, her raven hair dancing in the wind. Before he could ask her what she wanted Mikasa grabbed his chin and roughly tilted it back revealing a large bruise on his jaw and neck. Her grey eyes widened with a mix of horror and rage. She pulled his chin back down and examined his face, upon closer inspection she noticed Eren's left eye was slightly swollen.

'' . .You?'' Her voice was brimming with fury. Eren stuttered, he didn't want to tell Mikasa that Annie had beaten the shit out of him the night before.

''Mikasa. Where are you? Come on we have got to get moving.'' Bertolt's voice echoed through the training field, at the sound of his voice Mikasa let go of Eren and walked back towards Bertolt with a fog of anger hovering over her. _Annie did that to him. I am certain of it. I will make her pay for it! _''Mikasa are you okay you look...off.'' Mikasa turned her head to face the tall boy.

''It's nothing...'' She replied trying to sound as uninterested as possible.

''I need you to be on top form for this or someone could get hurt...or worse, so spill the beans.'' She was quite surprised by Bertolts behavior, usually he was a pushover who gave in almost immediately but now he was being so...forward. Mikasa sighed.

''Eren is just...I don't know, I just think he is getting a little too close to Annie.'' Bertolt couldn't help but laugh.

''Same here.'' With that he ran off to wish Reiner luck.

*four hours later*

''EREN ARE WE LOST?'' Annie's words were lost to the howling of the wind. She grabbed the rope that bound them together and pulled him back towards her.

''WHAT?'' Eren yelled at the top of his voice but Annie heard it as a whisper. Annie snatched the map from Eren, she was cold, tired and she wanted to rest but she was stuck here in this blizzard with Eren Yeager who is as good at reading maps as he is at fighting Annie. At a single glance of the map Annie knew that they were lost.

''WE NEED TO FIND SHELTER BEFORE WE FREEZE TO DEATH!'' She called out to him, Eren opened his mouth to reply when a sudden gust of wind knocked him from his feet, only when he got back up could Annie tell what a dire situation they were in. The snow was up to Annie's knees, chilling her legs to a point where she could no longer feel her toes and Eren was shaking uncontrollably. The wind felt like icy knives against their bodies despite the many layers of thick clothing both of them were wearing. Annie tugged on the rope and started walking towards what she was hoping was a nice warm cave.

''ANNIE HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS IS THE RIGHT WAY?'' He roared into the howling wind. In all honesty Annie didn't know if this was the right way. As soon as they had set out things had been working against them, an avalanche the night before had buried much of the pass, making it near impossible for them to find their bearings.

''I don't know. I never have. Now get moving before you freeze to death.'' She screamed, pulling the rope even harder. Eren caught up to her and grabbed the map from her hands. He was trying to stop it blowing away in the wind when he heard a strange noise.

''What was that?'' he whispered yanking on the rope.

''Eren we can't stop moving.'' She called back to him. A loud snarl brought her to a stop. ''Eren?''

''WOLVES!'' Eren screamed, he reached down to the sheath around his waist pulling out a razor sharp knife made of ultrahard steel. A howl resonated through the mountains silencing the wind. A large black wolf skulked towards them, it's eyes filled with an insatiable blood lust. Eren very slowly walked towards Annie trying to minimise the sound of his heavy boots on the snow.

''Have you got a plan Annie? Beac-'' Annie cut him off.

''When I say go I need you to run up that hill as fast as you can, I think there might be a cave up there.'' Her voice was shrill and cold. Eren looked up the hill towards the lip of the mound.

''You better be right Annie.'' Eren joked. Silence fell on the mountain side, Eren waited for Annie's signal with baited breath. _What is she waiting for? _He thought to himself. Around them the wolves began to circle them, every so often one would bare its sharp canines and emit a blood chilling snarl. The black wolf watched as its prey prepared its escape.

''GO!'' Annie's voice shattered the silence that had enveloped them. Eren bolted up the hill, Annie fell behind slightly, she was not as strong or tall as Eren. The first wolf; a young brown male lunged at Annie. Her blue eyes saw the beast as it came towards her, she narrowly ducked beneath it and unsheathed her own knife. Eren waved his knife franticly at a white wolf that was charging to his side, he felt his blade connect with something soft, a loud howl let him know that he had hit his target. Despite the deep snow they were quickly advancing up the mountain side. Annie gracefully dodged and ducked every lunge aimed at her. Eren forced his attackers to retreat with bloody wounds thanks to his knife. But their luck couldn't last. Eren had pulled too far ahead of Annie. Without realising it he had pulled Annie over face first into the snow. The black wolf seeing his opportunity raced towards his downed victim. Eren looked back to see the beast clamp its fangs around Annie's left leg. A piercing scream can from Annie as she felt the monsters teeth sink deeper and deeper into her flesh. _Not here. I can't do it here. I will kill it myself! _Through gritted teeth Annie raised herself up on her elbows and reached out for her blade. Without a second thought she plunged the knife into one of the beasts eyes. Crimson blood erupted from the wolf turning the white snow a sickly red. Annie didn't stop. She drove the knife deeper into the wolfs eye, howls of pain came from the animal until Annie felt the tip of blade connect with the soft tissue of its brain. The beast lay still, a steady stream of blood pumping from its eye socket. The other wolves started to back away, without their Alpha they had no one to lead them. They retreated back into the wilderness leaving Eren and a bleeding Annie alone.

''ANNIE!'' Erens cries woke her from her adrenaline fueled trance. He came to a stop at her side a look of horror on his face, he pushed the corpse from Annie's leg exposing the gruesome wound, Annie noticed the colour from Eren's face fade. The wolf and not only bitten deep into her leg but it had torn off a large chunk of flesh. Eren felt the contents of his stomach rise in his throat as he looked at the wound.

''Don't just stand their! Bind it!'' Annie's voice was stern but filled with pain. _Not yet I can't let it heal with him watching!_ It was taking all her determination to stop her leg from healing. Eren took out a large length of bandage from his backpack and began to tightly wrap up Annie's leg.

''It's bleeding pretty bad. Do you think you can walk?'' Eren's voice was filled with concern. Annie replied by trying to stand up but as soon as she put her weight on her injured leg pain rocketed up her body and she collapsed in the snow once more.

''It's okay I can carry you up the hill we are not that far from the top.'' Eren suggested, offering Annie his hand.

''It looks as if I don't have a choice unless I want to freeze to death.'' Despite her wound Annie's tone was still sarcastic. Eren took Annie's arm and rested it across his shoulder, he put his other arm under her legs and gently lifted her. He stopped when Annie winced in pain.

''Are you okay?'' He asked, his concern was visible on his face.

''I just had a huge wolf tear a chunk of my leg off so yeah apart from that I am fucking peachy.'' She snapped. Eren sighed and carried her up the hill. _So light and yet so strong. How is she so powerful? _ He pondered. Annie rested her head against Eren's chest as he carried her. She was exhausted not just from the long walk but from the blood loss as well. Just as she was about to pass out she heard a faint sound. Annie perked her head up to try and locate the source of the sound but as soon as she did it was gone. Annie simply shrugged it off and rested her head once again. There it was again however this time it was slightly stronger. Annie could tell it was a 'Thumping' sound, then it dawned on her. _It is his heartbeat! _She gently pushed her head closer into his chest, Annie didn't realise it but Eren cheeks were turning a bright red in response to her actions. The sound of his heart calmed Annie and took her mind from the pain in her leg. _He has such a strong heartbeat. _Annie thought as she pressed her ear against his torso. _Why is it beating so fast though?_ At the time Annie didn't realise it but she was the reason for making Eren's heart race.

**Wow that was a long one. Sorry that this chapter was so long. It was going to be longer but it all added up to 6'000 words xD I am going to try to aim to keep each chapter from now on between 2'000 and 3'000 words. **

**p.s HOLY COLOSSAL TITAN over 600 views! That is just mad. Thanks to everyone who has read, followed and faved this word. Also thanks to all the reveiws. Each one of them makes my day :)**

**p.p.s I have released the first chapter of my BertoltxYmir story ''The heartbeat of a monster'' It was a pain to write so please check it out.**

**And finally please please go and check out another ErenxAnnie story called ''The heart wants what it wants'' by Sunlight Halation. IT IS AMAZING. So as usual see ya all next time :) (Oh and the next chapter has a little more romance.) **


	7. Under the light of a full moon

Annie's azure eyes shot open and darkness flooded her vision. She didn't know where she was and the last thing Annie could remember was a huge black wolf ripping her leg apart.

''Annie! Are you okay?'' Eren's voice rang in her ears, she didn't respond. Annie was exhausted both physically and mentally. ''Hey Annie are you alright?'' She looked to the left and saw Eren walking towards her.

''Where the hell am I?'' She croaked. Eren knelt down beside her.

''You were right, there was a cave at the top of the hill. We have been here for about an hour.'' He explained. Annie reached out her hand and Eren pulled her to her feet. Annie looked around the cave, it was about 15 feet high and Eren had made a small fire towards the back of their den.

''Can you walk? Your leg got pretty messed up.'' The memory of the wolf ripping her leg apart flashed in her mind. Pain in her leg shot up her body causing her to collapse. Eren rushed forward and caught her before she hit the cold floor.

''Apparently not.'' Annie looked down to the floor out of embarrassment, she hated feeling helpless and weak. ''Um Eren...could you carry me over to the fire. I'm freezing.'' Eren looked down at Annie with a look of shock on his face. Since Annie's eyes were glued to the floor she couldn't see the blush rising on Eren's cheeks.

''Oh...sure thing Annie.'' Eren picked her like he did on the mountain side and slowly carried her over to the small fire that he had spent a long time trying to build. Annie noticed that he had laid out her sleeping bag next to the fire, Eren had laid his on the other side of the fire, the thought of sleeping next to Annie made him blush uncontrollably. Above the fire Annie noticed there was a flask full of now boiling water.

''Eren what are you doing with the flask?'' She asked as Eren gently placed her on her sleeping bag.

''We ran out of water, so I collected some snow from outside and melted it over the fire.'' He said with a hint of smugness. Annie laughed quietly and looked up at Eren.

''Wow. I am surprised Eren. You used your brain for once.'' She giggled. Eren looked at her with a looked of mild offense on his face.

''A thanks for saving me from bleeding to death on the side of a frozen mountain, would be nice.'' He said with a smug smile on his face.

''Well we are still lost in a huge mountain range so if we make it out I will thank you th-'' Annie screamed out in pain. As she was talking to Eren she had rolled over to look at him and hit her injured leg on a sharp rock. Eren rushed to her side and looked at her leg. Blood was seeping through the thick bandages and dripping onto the floor.

''Shit the wound has reopened, I'm going to have change to bandage okay?'' Eren looked at Annie trying to hide the fear on his face.

''Just...Hurry please.'' She said trying not scream. Eren slowly untied the bandage from her leg. He could feel the contents of his stomach threaten to rise up. He threw the bandage away, it landed with a wet squelch that made Eren shudder. Annie noticed through the fog of pain that the colour in Eren's face had drained away as he stared at the gruesome gash. Crimson blood was steadily pumping out of Annie's leg forming a frightening large puddle on the cave floor. Eren was however surprised to see how quickly the wound had started to heal. Eren reached into his bag and retrieved a large roll of bandages. Upon contact with her bloodstained skin Annie released a pain filled moan. Eren hastily coiled the fabric around her leg.

''Okay Annie this bit is going to hurt pretty badly.'' His voice was trembling, Annie bit down on her jumper and nodded sharply. Eren pulled the bandage as tight as he dare. Annie bit as hard as she could refusing to scream out in pain again.

''That should stop the bleeding for now. Just try to keep still.'' His voice reached Annie despite the pain that filled her mind. She exhaled slowly as the discomfort left her body. Eren went off to wash the blood from his hands, it was now that Annie realised that she was shaking. Annie examined her ghostly white skin and noticed that she was extremely pale. _How much blood did I lose?_ Annie looked down at her leg and her cerulean eyes widened when she saw the shockingly big pool of scarlet blood. When Eren returned his hands were no longer spattered with blood. He knelt down next Annie.

''Come on I don't think you want to lie in a pool of your own gore.'' Annie nodded faintly. Once again Eren picked her up and very slowly made his way over to his sleeping bag. He set her down and reached into his bag and pulled out a set of rations.

''Here you need these more than me.'' He offered Annie his food. Annie was extremely hungry; a mixture of the hike up the mountain, the fight with the wolves and blood loss had made Annie extremely famished.

''No you haven't eaten anything either, if you're going to have to carry me then you are going to need your strength.'' She argued, Annie really wanted that food but she didn't want Eren to go hungry.

Eren shook his head. ''If you don't eat this you could die. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you died Annie. So you are going to eat this food.'' He insisted.

''Why do you care so much? You could eat this food, leave me here and make your way back to the barracks.'' Eren looked at her with horror on his face.

''How could you say that?'' He was almost shouting. ''How could I call myself a human if I just let you die? What sort of monster would that make me?'' Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes.

''Because I am not worth it. I am just one person out of millions. My life means nothing to anyone.'' The words made Eren's heart stop. He looked at her with a mixture of anger and sorrow. ''Why are you looking at me like that? It's true.''

''Your life means nothing to anyone, that's what you think. THEN WHY DID I THROW MYSELF BETWEEN YOU AND THE FOREST FLOOR WHEN YOUR GEAR BROKE? IF YOU LIFE MEANS NOTHING TO ANYONE THEN WHY DID I HAUL YOU UP A FUCKING MOUNTAIN IN A BLIZZARD?'' Eren was now screaming and tears were cascading down his cheeks. Annie stared at him with a look of astonishment. No one had ever said anything like this to Annie. Her own father rarely showed any signs of affection or care to his daughter. Reiner cared for her like she was a younger sister. Bertolt cared more than anyone but Annie could never understand how much he truly cared for her. Eren was different. Eren was never afraid to show how he felt. Eren was hot headed with a shorter temper then anyone Annie had ever met. It took Annie what felt like hours to formulate an answer and when she did Annie spoke in a whisper.

''You never answered my question. Why do you care about what happens to me so much?'' Her voice was barely audible. Eren wiped the tears from his eyes _Is it now? Do I tell her now? Fuck it! If she can't tell it then I will tell her. _

''Because you are my friend. Because I admire everything you do. Because I want to be able to fight like you. Because whenever I see you my heart starts to race. Because...Because I...'' He paused and looked at the floor.

''Because you what?'' Her voice was weak. _What is he saying? Why is my heart pounding? _

''Because...Because I think I am in love with you.'' His voice never faltered as he said this. Annie stared at him her icy blue eyes widened as the words left his lips. _What now? This is what I wanted right? So why can't I say anything? _In her head she could hear her father screaming at her. He was yelling that she should dismiss his feelings, she should leave him and let him freeze to death. ''Well...say something.'' His voice was a lot smaller now. Annie's mouth was moving before her brain realised it.

''I think I will have some of that food now.'' Her lips were curling into a small smile. Eren sighed and pulled the ration pack out of his pocket, he walked towards where Annie was sitting. He extended his hand out to Annie, she grabbed his hand and pulled him close to her.

''There are many things about me that no one knows and maybe one day I will trust you enough to tell you.'' Eren's face was only a couple of inches from her own, she could feel his hot breath against her cheeks, both Eren's and Annie's hearts were racing. Eren was the one to break the trance, he pulled his hand from Annie's grasp and went to stoke the fire. Annie gave him a look of confusion _Did I say something wrong? _Eren came back holding a small cup of steaming water.

''Here this will make you feel a lot better.'' He handed her the cup and sat next to her. Annie brought the cup to her lips. The rising steam warmed her face and a smile of pleasure spread across her face.

''Thank you Eren.'' She took a small sip of the hot water and relief flooded through her body. Her fingers tingled as the heat flowed through her body. Eren took a sip of his own drink, his blue fingers returned to their normal colour. No one said anything for the next few minutes, they just sat there and warmed up thanks to the water Eren had been boiling. However they soon ran out. Eren went out to collect more snow but when he reached the mouth of the cave he turned back shivering violently .

''There is no way we can go out in that wind.'' Annie could hear the wind raging outside. Without the heat that had been supplied by the water Annie began to shiver. Eren could also feel the comforting heat leaving his body as he looked at the shaking girl a thought crossed his mind. _Maybe we should...No you moron she wouldn't want that. Right? But we are going to freeze. _''Um Annie don't punch me for this but...maybe we should try to...share body heat.'' His voice was trembling. Annie looked up and him, her face was bright red despite the stinging cold.

''Fine. I don't want to die of hyperthermia but if you tell anyone...I will break all of your fingers.'' Eren laughed nervously. He sat down next to Annie and wrapped his arm her shoulders, he gently pulled her close to his torso. Annie rested her head against his chest like when they were on the mountain. Once again she heard the comforting sound of his racing heartbeat. With his free hand Eren reached for the sleeping bag by the fire. Both Annie and Eren squeezed into the sleeping bag, Annie felt warmth flow around her body, Eren had rested his hands on Annie's lower back and Annie had her face in the crook of Erens neck, her breath against his neck sent shivers down Eren's spine.

''Eren did you mean what you said earlier?'' Her question made Eren's stomach flip. _Oh man I shouldn't have said anything _He scolded himself.

''Um...yeah I did. I didn't want to tell you like this. I was just really angry about how you were talking and it just slipped out sorry.'' Eren sighed as the words left him.

''You really need to learn how to speak to girls don't you.'' She giggled.

''I'm talking to you aren't I!'' Eren replied shuffling in the cramped sleeping bag. ''You know you may not think your worthing saving or helping but to me. To me you mean a lot.'' At these words Annie pushed her head against Eren's chest. _This feels really nice. Eren feels warm against me and his heartbeat is so warming...I want to stay like this. _

''So Ann-.'' Annie punched him in the gut.

''Less talk. More sleep.'' Before Eren could reply Annie was fast asleep in him arms and it wasn't long before he fell into a dreamless sleep.

When Eren woke up Annie was still pressed against him. _So it wasn't a dream. _He looked up towards the cave entrance, outside he could tell it was night. The wind had died down a little bit but he could feel it blowing against his face. ''Oh shit the fire is out.'' At the sound of his voice Annie stirred.

''Eren? What's happening?'' She yawned.

''The fire has gone out and it looks dark outside.'' He explained as he exited the sleeping bag.

''Dark? How is that possible?'' Annie shivered at the cold now that Eren wasn't there to warm her.

''Yeah the blizzard stopped us from seeing the sun so we couldn't tell the time. Anyway it looks like the wind has calmed down a bit, I am going to look for some firewood and some food just stay put I won't be long.'' Eren tried his best not to sound tired.

''As if I have a choice.'' She sarcastically gestured to her leg. Eren laughed before he gathered his equipment and left into the darkness. Annie crept back into the sleeping bag, she curled her body into a small ball holding onto the warmth Eren had left behind. _I guess now he is gone I can heal my leg a bit _The only thought in Annie's head shifted from her hunger to her leg. Under her many layers of bandages Annie felt her torn flesh knit back together, she felt muscle connect to muscle and skin to skin. The heat against her skin was almost unbearable. Annie limped to the mouth of the cave and cupped her hands in the snow. She pressed the cold powder against her bandage and moaned as she felt the snow melt against her leg. Annie turned her gaze towards the sky and she gasped at the view that met her. The moon was high in the sky, illuminating the already white snow. The eerie light of the full moon turned the entire pass a ghostly white. In the distance she could see the forest in which she and Eren had spent many hours walking in. The lack of clouds meant that the light from the full moon was not disturbed. In the very far distance Annie thought she could make out the unbroken edge of Wall Rose. Seeing this monolithic structure brought back many memories of what she had done. Of what she and her friends had done. Annie tore her glaring eyes from the wall. Annie looked back up towards the moon and wondered what her comrades were doing now. On the other side of the pass Reiner was skinning a wild boar he and Mina had tracked. Bertolt was looking down from the top of the tallest peak of Rose pass. He marveled at the sight wondering if Annie was watching the beautiful night.

An hour later Eren had returned with a surprisingly large amount of firewood and in a matter of minutes Eren had built a roaring fire. Eren stared proudly at his creation as Annie rummaged through his pack.

''Did you find any food?'' She asked as her stomach let out a loud grumble.

''Well it isn't exactly cake and honey but I found some berries and a couple of rabbits that had been caught in a snare that someone had laid.'' He explained adding a large log to the inferno.

''So you stole them?'' She sighed.

''I was hungry and I knew you were to so...yeah.'' He shrugged

Annie went about skinning the carceses Eren had 'found' while Eren crushed the berries and collected more snow for melting. The smell of roasting meat made both Annie and Eren's mouths water, it had been so long since they had fulfilling meal. The swill they were given in the mess hall wasn't exactly filling.

''Is it ready Annie? Come on I am starving here.'' Eren asked.

Annie shot him a murderous glare. ''For the hundredth time, be patient.'' Eren opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment about her cooking skill. ''And if you say anything about my cooking I will roast you over this fire.''

Eren didn't have to wait long, only a few minutes later Annie came over to him hold two skewers of Rabbit meat. ''Here now quit bugging me.'' She held out one of the smoking skewers and Eren grabbed it instantly.

''Oh man Annie your cooking is great, that felt amazing.'' Eren rubbed his full stomach and moaned in pleasure.

''I will take that as a thank you then.'' She laughed. After Annie had finished her own Rabbit she sat down next Eren and rested her head on one of his broad shoulders, immediately Eren blushed but he returned the gesture by resting his own head on her golden hair.

''So Annie about what I said earlier about...'' He paused.

''About being in love with me?'' Her voice had a hint of curiosity in it.

''Yeah that...could you not tell anyone. Please Annie I will die of embarrassment and Jean won't let me hear the end of it and Mika-'' His shaking voice ignited a fire deep in Annie's body, she felt energy flood through her veins. Without realising what she was doing Annie reached up and sealed Eren's lips with her own, she had no idea what she was doing but whatever it was it just felt...right. Eren's jade green eyes widened in shock. It took him a few seconds to understand what was happening, upon realising that Annie was kissing him he gave himself up the the kiss entirely. Eren parted his cold lips and kissed her back, his hands clasping her coral pink cheeks. Warmth engulfed Annie's body as her lips moved against Eren's. Neither of them wanted to be the first to break the embrace, but Annie pulled away slowly and looked directly into Eren's eyes and Eren looked directly into Annie's eyes.

''I love you Annie.'' His voice was a trembling whisper.

Annie gave a small sly smile. '' I know you do.''

**YYYAAAAYYY it finally happened 7 chapters i and finally they kiss! **

**This one was really really fun to write and I can't wait to write more romantic stuff with these two. Anyway please follow, favorite and review. **

**p.s Please check out my Bertolt x Ymir story ''The heartbeat of a monster.**

**p.p.s Please check out an Annie x Eren story called ''In memoires'' by Mangajuicexd it is absolutely amazing.**

**p.p.p.s In the future I might MIGHT be including a couple of other ships. Like Mina x Reiner or Reiner x Krista etc **


	8. What the morning brought

The blinding light of dawn stirred both Annie and Eren from their peaceful slumber. Annie was the first to wake. She winced at the harsh light that flooded the cave. Suddenly memories of the night before burst into her mind. Memories of Eren screaming about his feelings, memories of the rabbit, memoires of the moon. Memories of the kiss. Annie gently brushed her fingers across her blue lips. _So it wasn't a dream. _The corners of her mouth curled into a tiny smile. Annie turned her eyes towards Eren who was peacefully dreaming next to her. After Annie had pulled away from her first kiss she had pulled the sleeping bag around both of them and they had fallen into a blissful sleep in each others arms.

''Eren wake up. It's morning.'' She gently elbowed his stomach. Eren's jade eyes slowly opened and he looked down at Annie. A wide smile spanning from cheek to cheek forming on his face.

''Morning Annie.'' He yawned. Eren reached up and stretched his arms. ''So last night was the real deal.'' He boasted. Annie hit him slightly harder in the gut causing him to keel over.

''Yes it was. Now get up and help me pack up we need to get moving soon.'' Her voice was icy as usual but there was a hint of sincere affection as well. Annie stood up and pulled the sleeping bag from Eren. He swore as the cold air bite his skin.

''Come on Annie. Just a few more minutes. Please.'' He gave her his biggest smile hoping to convince her to give the warm bag back. Annie shot him a terrifying glare and a bead of sweat trickled down Eren's face. ''Actually now you mention it we should get moving.'' He added trying to sound serious.

''That's more like it. Now pack up the gear, I'll check the map.'' Annie turned around and made her way over to her pack.

''Why do I have to pack the equipment?'' Eren whined as he stood up. Annie sighed and gestured to her bandaged leg. ''Oh okay then.'' Half an hour later Annie and Eren were standing at the mouth of the cave. While Eren was packing away the sleeping bag and other various supplies Annie had plotted a course through a small canyon that lead to where the flags were supposedly waiting for them.

''So Annie, about last night.'' His voice was trembling slightly.

''You kissed me. What about it?'' Her voice was surprisingly calm.

''Actually you kissed me, I just...kissed back. Anyway so are we a...Couple now?'' His question made Annie think. She had kissed a boy for the first time in her life. Did that mean they were going to get old together and have kids and watch the world go by? Annie had no idea. It made her scared.

''If we make it back to base then I will tell you, but right now we need to focus on getting that flag.'' To be honest Annie had said this to buy time so she could try and answer the question for herself. A small wave of sadness passed over Eren but he nodded and started walking with Annie in tow. The weather had greatly changed from yesterdays blizzard, the sun was now clearly visible in the mellow blue sky without a cloud in sight. Despite the sun being so very high in the sky the cold was still bitter and chilling. They were making good progress seeing as how the snow was almost above Annie's knees.

''Your leg seems fine now.'' Eren huffed, he was forced by Annie to carry both of their packs.

''I can walk just fine, I just can't put much weight on it.'' She shrugged, watching Eren stumble around in the snow was quite amusing. A comfortable silence fell on the pair as they trecked through the white powder. The quiet gave Annie a chance to think about what had happened in the cave. _I kissed him! Me. I did! What does this mean? _She sighed and looked at the map. If they continued at this pace they should reach the flags by sunset. _I have until sunset to come up with an answer. I can do this. _Annie mentally assured herself.

Eren was walking a couple of feet ahead of Annie and his mind was buzzing with questions. _she kissed me. So why doesn't she answer my question? Was it just a pity kiss? No it was real and she has been acting...odd for a while now. Does that mean she has feelings for me? _Eren would only have to wait a matter of hours for his answer. None of them broke the silent trance that had fallen on them. Eventually Annie was the one to talk.

''I think we are almost there, the canyon should be over that ridge.'' She pointed to a small peak ahead of them.

''Don't jinx it. Last time you said that we were attacked by wolves.'' He joked. Annie couldn't help but giggle at his strange sense of humor.

''Why are you complaining you got a kiss out of it.'' She said placing her hands on her hips. Eren's face flushed a deep scarlet.

''W..well yeah...but...'' He stuttered. Annie laughed out obnoxiously.

''That's what I thought. Now shut up and get walking.'' She demanded overtaking him. Eren sighed and rubbed his temples before following the now smiling Annie. They quickly reached the lip of the hill; without being attack by the wildlife. Annie's smile widened gleefully. She was right, a wide canyon greeted them spanning at least two miles before reaching the other side. In the far distance Annie could make out a small cabin standing out against the white snow.

''There. The flag must be there.'' She pointed towards the small brown speck in the distance. A huge smile rose on his face.

''YES WE FINALLY FOUND IT!'' He was jumping around like a little kid on their birthday. Annie sighed and stuck out her foot as Eren ran by.

''We found it. Now we have to get there genius.'' She reached down and picked him out of snow. ''If we hurry and stop hopping around in the snow like a rabbit then we can make it there by sunset.'' She said in a commanding tone. Eren brushed the powder from his face and threw it at Annie.

''Lighten up Annie we were lost in a blizzard, attacked by wolves and slept in a cave. It's okay to be happy to see the end in sight.'' He gestured to the cabin.

''I will be happy once we get that fucking flag.'' With that she started to make her way the peak and into the canyon. Eren shrugged his shoulders and followed her. They very quickly found a problem with going through the canyon. The snow was much, much deeper than before. It was just above Eren's waist which meant it was up to Annie's chest. There pace went from a fast hike to a clumsy stumble in a matter of minutes.

''Ugh we aren't getting any where like this.'' Annie complained as she struggled to keep up.

''Well I am carrying all of my equipment and yours, so if you want someone to carry you find someone with two pairs of shoulders.'' He snapped. Despite their slow and clumsy movements they were making progress. After two hours of grueling hiking they were almost at the other side of the canyon.

''How do you suppose we climb the rock face Annie?'' Eren questioned as he stared at the looming wall in front of him.

''Oh. I thought there was going to be a path or something on the other side. Turns out I was wrong.'' Her voice was full of irritation.

''I guess we could try and climb it. The snow is so deep that if we fall we won't die.'' He said rubbing his eyes.

''That sounds like something I would say.'' Her voice had a hint of humor in it.

''Whatever, let's just get climbing.'' He snapped. Eren started to ascend the sheer rock face. Annie watched him climb for a bit before starting her clamber. The rocks were covered in a thin layer of invisible ice making climbing near impossible, however despite all odds Eren through sheer determination managed to scale the canyon wall. Using his remaining strength he took hold of the rope that bound him and Annie and he began to pull her up. Once again he marveled at how light Annie was. It didn't take long before Annie's head cleared the edge of the cliff. Both of them laid in the snow panting in exhaustion.

''Now lets get that damn flag and get somewhere war-'' Annie cut him off.

''I have my answer Eren.'' Her voice was plain and toneless.

''Yo-You do!'' His voice started to shake as did he. A blush was rising on his neck and cheeks.

Annie took a deep breath _I have had enough. Father I am sorry but it hurts too much _''I want to be with you Eren. Whenever I am around you my heart goes crazy and it hurts. When I kissed you in the cave it wasn't out of sympathy, it was out of desire. Desire for you.'' She paused to examine the look of shock on Eren's face. ''I have never been good with feelings and stuff but when we spar I feel like I am having a conversation with you by fighting you. I can't promise I will be the best lover in the walls but I can promise that I will be faithful and caring...At least when we are alone. I don't know how you did it but you made me fall in love when I didn't even know what love was. So yes Eren I gue-'' This time Eren cut her off. He dropped his packs to the floor and rushed towards Annie. He reached out and took her face in his hands. She leaned forward and their foreheads met, as if she could read his mind Annie gave a faint nod to Eren, he gave a small smile and brushed his lips across hers. Annie gave a faint sigh and wrapped her hand around his chest and pulled him closer for a more heated embrace. Their lips melted together as if they were made for eachother. Eren slowly parted his lips and Annie moaned into her lover as the both lusted for more. Eren pushed Annie away and she gasped at the sudden loss.

''Annie. From the moment Reiner threw me in front of you, I haven't been able to shift you from my mind. Fighting you was always an incredible experience even if I did lose most of the time.'' He said as he brushed her golden hair from her pale skin.

''All the time don't you mean?'' She gently punched his gut. Then a thought dawned on her. _They can not find out ever. _Annie turned her cobalt eyes to Eren with a serious look on her face. ''No one can find out about this do you understand?'' Her tone was stern but Eren swore he heard a hint of worry as well.

''Don't worry, I was about to tell you the same thing.I think Mikasa will probably get mad if she found about and get all protective and Jean...He wouldn't leave me alone about it and then Connie would constantly stick his nose in to our business.'' He ranted.

''Well then we can act like comrades during the day and whenever we're alone...'' She leaned into his ear and purred. ''Well, I'll leave that to your imagination.'' Eren's cheeks erupted into a fiery crimson.

''Oh...yeah sure thing Annie.'' His knees were threatening to cave in on him. Annie leaned in for another warm kiss when Reiner and Mina burst into the clearing. Annie's soft smile reverted to it's usual scowl as she pushed Eren to the snow.

''Holy shit...You have no idea how quickly we ran to get here.'' Reiner huffed as he laid on the floor panting like a dog.

''Why were you in a hurry?'' Eren asked brushing the snow from his back.

''The bet remember?'' Mina wheezed.

''What bet?'' Annie joined in the conversation.

''Oh Bertolt should have told you. Anyway the last team to arrive had to do the winning teams jobs for a month.'' Reiner paused.

''So when we saw a team going through the canyon from the forest we thought we were going to come second so we sprinted here only to find you had already beaten us.'' Mina continued.

''That's great! No more kitchen duty for me!'' Eren shouted to the sky.

''I guess we should wait for the others then.'' Reiner gestured to Rose Pass. ''Wherever they are I hope they hurry I'm freezing.'' He added. It took an hour for the next team to arrive, in that time Annie had gone to make a fire in the cabin.

''Hey look who it is!'' Reiner yelled. Annie came out the cabin with her red wool flag slung over her shoulder. Bertolt and Mikasa were slowly marching from the forest that Mina and Reiner had come from. ''Bertie what took you so long?'' Reiner snorted. Bertolt gave an awkward smile and waved to his friend.

''Are we the second team here then?'' Mikasa asked looking around her.

''Actually you are the third team here.'' Eren walked up behind her. At the sound of his voice Mikasa turned on her heels and pulled him into a crushing hug. Through her barrage of questions Eren noticed Bertolt walking over to Annie and Reiner.

''Annie what happened to your leg? Are you okay?'' Bertolt pointed to the bandage on her leg.

''I'm fine I just...got in a fight.'' She refused to meet Bertolts eyes. Reiner could see plain as day that she was hiding something. He always thought of Annie as an awful liar. Mina could also see that she was hiding something but unlike Reiner she was too impatient to wait and see what 'it' was. She grabbed Annie's arm and dragged her into the cabin.

''So how was your hike?'' Mina winked at Annie as she slammed the door behind her. She had to fight a blush from rising on her cheeks.

''Cold, exhausting and bloody.'' She replied plainly. Mina pouted.

''Come on Annie give me some details. Was it nice being stuck on a lone mountain with Eren?'' Mina had a plan to get some answers out of Annie, even if it cost her a tooth.

''I found out he can't read a map for shit.'' She shrugged. ''He is also a big whiner when it comes to blood.''

''Oh if he is so annoying...'' She leaned in slightly. ''Maybe I should take him for myself. He looks like a good kisser to me.'' Mina mentally patted her back. Annie simply sighed, she would not rise to the bait. She intended to protect the little happiness Eren gave her from prying eyes.

''Why would I care? I warn you though, he is a pain in the ass sometimes.'' With that she left the cabin and a fuming Mina. It took another hour for the next team to arrive, Jean and Armin had arrived while Annie was talking to Mina. Jean was arguing with Eren over something stupid. Armin was lying in the snow breathing heavily.

''I take it Bertolt and Mikasa got here first.'' Jean gestured to Mikasa.

''Actually Annie and me got here before any of you.'' Eren boasted.

''NNNNOOO!'' A voice came booming through the clearing. Sasha Blouse and Connie Springer sprinted into down a nearby peak. As the neared the cabin Connie tripped over his own foot and he came down the rest of the mound in a ball of snow.

''Are we the last to arrive?'' Sasha screamed. Eren gave her a devilish smile.

''Yes you are, so both you and Connie are going to be doing mine and Annie's kitchen work and everything for a month.'' He said proudly. Eren looked over his shoulder and gave her a gleeful smile, Annie rolled her icy blue eyes and gave a small smile of her own.

It turns out having Connie and Sasha handle your daily duties was actually quite helpful. It gave Annie and Eren a couple of extra hours of hand-to-hand training while everyone else was making the days dinner. The sun was setting to the west plunging the barracks in a soft orange light. Eren picked himself up from the dirt for what felt like the hundredth time, Annie was standing over him with her arms crossed, a devilish smile rising on her face. The rest of the 104th were busy working in the kitchens to prepare dinner leaving Annie and Eren without anything to do.

''Your stance is still too rooted.'' She walked behind Eren. ''If you want to learn this style you need to be lighter on your feet.''

Eren exhaled and felt the bones in his shoulders creak as he relaxed.

''That's more like it. Now raise your arms.'' She raised her own arms to eye level and Eren copied her. ''A little higher.'' She reached around and lifted Eren's arms to the correct level. ''That's better.'' She whispered into his neck. Fingers of ice danced down Eren's back, Annie's hot breathe on his neck caused his face to erupt into a bright blush. Annie noticed that whenever Eren got nervous he starts to shake slightly and right now Eren's knees were trembling so much they threatened to buckle beneath him. Sensing the thoughts going through his head Annie kicked the back his legs, sending him to the floor yet again.

''OW!'' He yelped. ''What was that for?'' Eren asked as he hauled himself up yet again. Annie crossed her arms and gave him one of her rare smiles. Eren sighed and made his way over to Annie. ''You have a funny way of showing affection don't you.'' He joked as he brushed the dirt from his shirt. Annie stared into his Jade eyes and she surged forward. She reached around Eren's broad shoulders and pulled him close, she rested her head in the crook of his neck. Eren chuckled softly and stroked her golden hair.

''Your stance was sloppy again. That's all.'' Her voice was soft against his skin. Annie reached up and slowly pulled Eren face down. Their lips met in a heated embrace as Annie ran her hands through his oaken brown hair. Eren hands were resting on her hips, pulling her closer to him. Neither of them wanted to break off the kiss, Annie parted her delicate lips, granting Eren's tongue access to her mouth. As Eren pressed himself against her small frame Annie gave a small moan of lust and she too pulled him closer to her. Annie's shaking hands hand moved from his shoulders and had moved to the hem of his shirt. As she began to lift the fabric Eren pulled away.

''Someone is eager today.'' He whispered. ''Maybe we shouldn't do this outside in the training field.'' He gestured to the mess hall that was only 17 yards away, filled with people and their prying eyes. Annie took her hands away. She knew he was right. But she stilled wanted more out of Eren then kind words and hot kisses.

''I guess you're right.'' She said, Eren noticed her cheeks were a scarlet red. He lifted her chin up with his hand and gave her a light kiss. Which she happily returned. Annie pulled away. She looked up at Eren, Annie smiled and drove her knee into his stomach. Eren keeled over clutching his abdomen. Annie knelt down and whispered something in a soft voice to Eren before she jogged off to the mess hall. Whatever Annie had muttered she had said it too quietly for Eren to hear it. He considered going after to ask her what she said but he simply shrugged it off in favour of watching the setting sun turn the sky a blazing orange. He stood up holding his bruised gut wondering how on earth he was going to survive to next two and a half years with Annie.

**Here it is chapter 8. This one was kind of tricky but still a joy to write. **

**I can't believe it. Over 850 views...wow I want to say thanks to all you wonderful people. So as usual please please review and follow. Oh and please check out my other stories if you get the chance. **

**p.s It is time for me to shoutout an amazing story I found so if you like Bertolt x Ymir please check out 'falling into forever'' by truebluehue88. See ya next time! **


	9. Voices of the warriors

Reiner knew that Annie was a bad liar. Ever since they had met in the forest all those years ago he had been able to tell when she wasn't telling the truth.

Mikasa had to protect him. She had promised Carla that she would protect him from those who would hurt him and she planned to fulfill her vow. No matter the cost.

After Annie had left Eren alone to watch the sunset Reiner made his move. He had been keeping a close eye of her since they returned from the mountain. He knew something wasn't right. Annie was jogging towards the mess hall when her cerulean eyes caught glimpse of Reiner standing in the shadow of the girls dormitory. Her heart stopped in her chest when she saw the expression on his face. Reiners friendly and stoic smile was gone, replaced by a solemn and blood chilling frown.

''We need to talk Annie.'' His voice was thick with primal anger. Annie looked at him and swallowed her fear.

''I don't want to right now. Whatever it is it can wait.'' She tried to hide the worry in her voice.

''NO. WE NEED TO TALK NOW!'' His booming voice shook the ground beneath his feet. In the distance Eren had heard Reiner's roar. _Wonder what's up with him? _

Annie took a step back in shock. Reiner only acted like this when something was very, very wrong. She exhaled slowly and walked into the darkness. ''What is wro-'' The rest of her words died in her chest. Reiner grabbed her collar as soon as she was in range and threw her against the wall of the building. Annie fell to the floor as pain clouded her vision, blood was trickling out of a cut on the back of her head staining her golden hair a sticky red. She looked up at Reiner and her blood turned to ice. He was towering over her. His eyes burned with a fire of rage and betrayal. Annie calmed herself, she knew that she could easily fight Reiner but in the back her mind a voice was yelling at her. _Something is very, very, very wrong. _Steam was now rising from the cut in her head as her skin knitted back together. ''Reiner what's wrong?'' Her voice had a slight tremble to it.

''What are we Annie?'' His voice was dripping with fury. Annie's eyes widened as she realised what he meant.

''We are warriors.'' She paused to gather her breath. ''I haven't forgotten.'' She stood up brushing the dirt from her shirt and blood from her head. Annie went to walk by Reiner but his hand shot out and closed around her throat. Before she could go to kick out his legs Annie was being lifted off the ground by Reiners freakish strength.

''DON'T LIE!'' He craned her head towards Eren who was happily walking back to the mess hall, completely oblivious to what was going on . ''I saw everything Annie. How could you be so stupid?'' His anger was showing cracks. ''Remember what our job is Annie. Remember what we sacrificed our humanity for.'' Tears were forming in his now empty eyes. ''Remember what Marcel died for.'' His voice was now a mere whisper. Annie pried open his fingers and she fell to the floor.

''I will always remember it all. I don't have a choice, but if we are going to do this. I want something in return.'' The ice in her voice made Reiner chuckle.

''Bertolt won't be happy when he finds out.'' He sniffed. Rage flooded her body at his comment. Annie rushed forward and grabbed a fistfull of Reiner's hair. With all her strength she pulled Reiner down and drove her knee into his face. She felt his nose break with a satisfying crack. Followed by a dull roar of pain.

''He will NOT find out. Do you understand?'' She spat. Reiner wiped the coppery blood from his face and gave Annie a murderous glare.

''He will find out some way or another. It's only fair that you tell him.'' He walked next to Annie and jabbed her gently in the shoulder. ''Better that than him walk in on you and Eren going at it.'' Annie went to punch him in the ribs but he caught her fist mid flight. ''Bertolt and I care about you. Which is why you need to stop this here.'' He sighed. ''We can't fail this mission. You know that.'' The steam that had been billowing out of Reiner's face had cleared up revealing a fully healed nose clear of crimson blood. ''I don't want to see you get hurt anymore. So...Just stop this, before it gets out of hand.'' With with that he left the shadows that had hidden them. Annie sat down against the wall and sighed heavily. _What am I doing? _She thought. Annie loved Eren and he made her happy, even if she was tasked to destroy the walls she wouldn't give him up. _Do I deserve to happy? _She pondered. _I don't care if I don't deserve love or any of that shit. _

''What are you doing here?'' Eren's voice shook her from her trance. Eren was standing in the fading sunlight. Annie noticed worry in his lush green eyes. ''Annie?'' He took a step towards her.

''I just...needed to get out of the sun, that's all.'' Her voice was quiet and empty. Eren sighed, he took a seat next to Annie and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

''Don't lie Annie. It doesn't suit you.'' He joked, Eren wrapped his fingers around Annie's and squeezed her hand. ''What happened?'' This time he was a little more commanding.

''I...broke Reiner's nose.'' She whispered. Eren broke out into hysterical laughter.

''What did he do this time?'' He said nudging her side.

Annie looked away from Eren and bit her lip as she tried to come up with a lie. ''He... made a joke about my nose.'' Eren sighed and stood up.

''I don't know much about relationships, but I am going to guess that telling the truth is important. And for the record. I think you have a pretty nose.'' The disappointment in his voice made Annie's chest ache.

''Reiner saw us.'' She blurted out. Eren slowly turned around a look of worry on his face. ''He saw us on the training field. He...saw us kiss.'' Eren thought he heard embarrassment in her voice.

''Do you think he will tell anyone?'' His voice was trembling at the thought of people finding out.

''I don't know.'' She paused when a thought burst into her head. ''Wait. I don't think he will.'' Annie added.

''What makes you think that?'' Eren took a few cautious steps towards her.

''Knowing Reiner, I think he will try to tease us about it. If he told everyone he wouldn't be able to tease or blackmail us.'' Annie pointed to the mess hall.

''I'm not sure if that is better or worse than everyone knowing.'' Eren scoffed.

''I guess we should just,wait to see what he does.'' Annie suggested.

''Well now I think about it, I don't care that much.'' He whispered.

''What did you sa-'' Before she could finish her sentence Eren closed the distance between the two of them, he wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her close to him. Annie hand been taken by complete surprise by Eren, her milky white cheeks were quickly turning a hot red. At the sight of her blush Eren felt a wide smile from across his face. Annie stood up on her tip toes and pulled Eren down and their lips met. To Annie's surprise Eren was being more confident with his lips. She felt Eren's tongue press against lips begging for entry. Annie happily obliged and parted her lips. She moaned as she felt Eren's tongue press against her own. Her hands once again found the hem of his shirt and once again as she began to lift his shirt he pulled away. But this time it wasn't to stop her. Eren planted a trail of soft kisses across her cheeks and jawline. Annie let out a load and lustful moan when Eren pressed his warm lips against a bundle of nerves on her neck. At the sound of her moans Eren pressed his lips against her neck even harder and took a mental note of this location.

''I have got to remember this place.'' Eren whispered against her neck. Annie let her hands wander up Eren's shirt, her fingers dancing over his toned abs causing Eren to give a soft sigh. Her hands moved across his sides and around his back. Eren's green eyes widened when her hands brushed over his lower back and he inhaled sharply.

''Oh did I find somewhere sensitive?'' She breathed into his chocolate hair. Eren pulled away slowly revealing a bright crimson blush that covered his cheeks and neck. He nodded slowly and a sly smile rose on Annie's face. Eren backed away slowly, his hands trying to cover the blush on his cheeks.

''Yeah..um….I am going to go now...see you...yeah.'' With that he walked away and Annie noticed the slightly awkward way he stumbled away. Annie made her own mental note of the spot on Eren's back.

Before he entered the mess hall, Eren brushed down his shirt and shook his head. _How did she do that?_ He shuddered at the memory of Annie's fingers dancing across his skin. Once he had composed himself he opened the door and walked inside. The first thing he noticed was the smell of dinner. It was the smell of freshly baked bread mixed with...roast meat!

''WE HAVE MEAT!'' Sasha came sprinting towards Eren. She grabbed Eren's hand and pulled him to his plate. On his plate was a small loaf of warm and freshly baked bread. But the thing that got his attention was what was next to the bread.

''Be-BEEF!'' His eyes were wide as he smelled the succulent meat. ''Did you steal this again?'' His gaze never leaving the beef.

''NO! It was a treat from Shardis for coming first in the exercise.'' Her face wore an expression of mild offence. Eren was about to take a bite of the steaming food in front of him when he noticed something that made his blood turn to ice. Sitting only two tables away from him was Reiner. The giant boy had a smile on his face that said enough to Eren to make him have nightmares. _I know everything _It was enough to make Eren break out into a sweat. Eren pleaded with him using only his eyes. _Please don't do this _He silently begged him. Reiner simply laughed obnoxiously, he stood from his seat next to Bertolt and slowly made his way over to Eren, he was greatly enjoying making him squirm.

''So Eren. Can I have some of that meat?'' That evil grin never left his face.

''No way! I haven't eaten anything like this in...forever.'' The words left Eren's lips before he had a chance to stop them. This is just what Reiner wanted to hear. The smile on his face grew even wider.

''Everyone.'' His voice bellowed through the hall, causing silence to fall. Eren swallowed. ''I have an announcement to make.'' Reiner looked down at Eren and the look on the boys face almost made Reiner explode into laughter. As Reiner opened his mouth to reveal Eren's big secret the wooden door to the mess hall flung open. All heads turned to the entrance. Annie was standing in the doorway, her fists were clenched and her face wore an expression of pure malice. Even the evil grin Reiner wore faltered slightly in the face of Annie. ''Ah Annie just in time.'' Even if it cost him another broken nose he was going to do this for a multitude of reasons.

''Reiner don't you dare.'' The venom in her voice made several people recoil. But not Reiner.

''Oh. Why not Annie?'' Reiner did his best to mask his fear.

_It's only fair if you tell him_ His words echoed in her mind. ''Because... I am going to tell them. Now shut up and sit down.'' Eren was franticly looking for a means of escape but he couldn't see any open windows and Annie was still in the doorway. Annie sighed before she spoke. ''Me and Eren are.'' She paused and saw that everyone in the hall were waiting on her every word. Except for Bertolt. ''We are seeing each other.'' As soon as the words left her every pair of eyes in the hall widened but none more so than Bertolt and Mikasa.

Annie left the hall before she was hit by the barrage of questions, leaving Eren in the hall with a lot of people who wanted answers. But before he got a chance to make an excuse to leave Mikasa was dragging him out of the hall by his collar. ''Okay you can let go now Mikasa.'' Eren shouted.

The girl with Raven hair dropped Eren and looked him with worry. ''Eren. I promised your mother that I would protect you from harm.'' Her voice never faltered apart from when she mentioned his mother.''

''What does that have to do with dragging me out here?'' Eren's voice was serious and stern, he didn't like it when people mentioned his mum.

''Annie is not a loving person. She will just hurt you, I know it.'' She tried her best to sound sympathetic.

Her words sparked a fire inside the boy. ''You don't know her! You don't have the right to judge her. Annie would never hurt me!'' Eren didn't realise that not far away Bertolt was listening to his every word with tears streaming down his face.

''Eren. Listen to me, that girl will hurt you. You are just blinded by your feelings.'' She pleaded.

''THAT GIRL! That girl Mikasa, loves me. And I love her. I am not a kid anymore, I can make my own decisions.

''Eren please, just reconsider. There are plenty of other people around here that won't hurt you. Like...Mina or Hannah just not Annie.'' Her voice was starting to crack at the thought of Annie hurting him.

''NO! I will not reconsider. I don't care if I get hurt. I love Annie and I want to be with her.'' With that he turned on his heels and stormed off leaving Mikasa alone. _Eren. Please, just be careful _

Bertolt had listened to the entire thing. He had cried until he had no more tears in his reddened eyes. With every word Eren had yelled he had felt his heart sink a little lower in his chest. Bertolt was sitting with his back to the wall of the mess hall, his knees brought up to his chest. Bertolt stayed there until the moon was high in the sky. He didn't feel like sleeping that night, he just wanted to be alone and watch the ebony night sky. However he was not alone.

''Bertolt! Where are you?'' Eren's voice echoed through the training field. The sound of his voice caused something to snap inside of Bertolt's head. He left his hiding spot and brought himself to his full height. ''There you are! Come on, before Shardis catches us out after hours.'' Bertolt walked up to Eren, enveloping him in his giant moonlight shadow.''Bertolt? What's wrong?'' The giant boy knelt down until his face was level with Eren's.

''If you hurt a single hair on her head...I will kill you. Do you understand?'' Bertolt's trembling voice was gone. It was replaced by a low growl that was dripping with fury.

Eren took a step back in shock, no one had ever heard Bertolt talk like this. ''Look. I have had enough of people questioning me over Annie, so just leave it.'' Eren tried and failed to hide the crack in his voice.

Bertolt knelt in even closer until Eren could feel his hot breath on his face. '' .Understand?'' It was taking all of his strength to stop himself from throttling Eren where he stood.

''Why do you care so much?'' Eren's curiosity was getting the better of him, he wanted to know what caused Bertolt to act like this.

Bertolt stood to his full height and Eren took another step backwards. The giant boy clenched his fists so hard until blood started to seep out his palms. ''Bertolt that is enough.'' Eren turned to source of the new commer. It was Reiner he was slowly walking towards the pair. His eyes were cold and tired.

''Reiner. He is bad for her. She doesn't know what she is doing.'' Bertolt shot him a venomous glare. ''He is just using her.'' He hissed.

Eren lunged for the boy. ''HOW DARE YOU!'' He yelled. Just as his fists were about to connect with Bertolts face the tall boys hands shot out and closed tightly around his throat.

''THAT IS ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!'' The sound of Reiner's demanding voice echoed around the barracks. It took all of Reiner's strength to pry both of them from each other.

''I meant what I said Eren. If you hurt her. You have no idea what I will do to you.'' Those were Bertolt's last words to Eren. He walked off into the thick woods that surrounded the barracks. Leaving Reiner and Eren alone.

''What was all that about?'' Eren croaked as he soothed his bruised neck.

Reiner sighed and rubbed the nape of his neck. ''It is quite a long story. Me, Bertolt and Annie have known each other for quite a long time.'' He paused to see if Eren was listening. ''Me and Bertolt were from the same village, and Annie was from the neighbouring town. One day we were in the woods.'' He paused to take breath. ''When we met her. She had run away from her dad and she got lost in the woods. Annie told us about her life and her father, and we soon became her only friends. Then.''

''Then what happened?'' Eren asked impatiently.

''Look don't hate him for this but. Bertolt quickly developed. Feelings if you could call them that, towards Annie.'' Reiner turned his gaze to the woods. ''He would do anything for her. In fact he has done more than I can believe for her.'' Reiner didn't realise that those words were spoken aloud.

''That explains why he was acting like that.'' Eren deadpanned.

''I have never seen Bertolt like that and I have known him since. Forever, so to make him...snap like that is a big deal. So be careful, because I will chose him over you Eren.'' Reiner took one last look into the woods before going back to the dormitory. Leaving Eren to wonder _How many enemies am I going to make because of this?_

Bertolt was sprinting through the woods, he didn't care how many cuts the brambles gave him, he just needed to find somewhere he could be happy or alone. As he was running through the foliage his foot caught on a protruding root and toppled to the floor. A loud snapping noise and maddening pain told Bertolt that he had broken his ankle. However he didn't mind. the pain from his leg took away his attention from the pain he felt in his heart. _Annie...why him? I have loved and cared for you from the very beginning _Bertolt wanted to go home. Bertolt wanted to forget who he was. Instead he curled up into a ball, ignoring the pain and steam from his shattered bone. And he cried himself into a dark and lonely sleep. Only the forest and moon heard his lonesome sobs that night.

When the light of the morning sun dawned on the 104th training Bertolt was still asleep in the woods. It took a gentle zephyr to stir him from his dreamless slumber. After remembering the events of the night before Bertolt refused to shed anymore tears. He used a nearby tree to pick himself up from the damp forest floor, he expected to feel roaring pain rocket up his leg from but in his sleep his bones had regrown, Bertolt hated the fact that he healed so fast. It reminded him that he was a monster. ''I need to apologize to Eren. That wasn't right, what I did.'' He said to himself. Bertolt weaved between the rays of sunlight that shone between the leaves overhead. Slowly making his way towards the mouth of the forest. He stopped just shy of the exit and sighed heavily. The burning sunlight blinded him as he stepped out of the dense woods. Once the pain had left his ashen eyes Bertolt looked across the barracks, from what he could tell the morning was still young, the sun had barely made it above the snow capped mountains to the east.

''Hey Bertie there you are!'' Reiner's voice brought him out of his trance.

''Reiner. Sorry I disappeared last night. I don't know what came over me.'' His calm and small voice had returned to him.

''Ah don't worry about it. I told Eren about your feelings towards Annie.'' Bertolt went to cut him off. ''I also told him not to let Annie know. Out of respect for you.'' Reiner finished.

''Thank you Reiner. Oh and speaking of Eren, do you know where he is?'' Bertolt asked putting a hand on Reiner's shoulder. Reiner raised a concerned eyebrow to his question. ''I'm not going to look for a fight. I just, want to say sorry.''

Satisfied with his reason Reiner pointed to the mess hall. Bertolt thanked his friend and ran off in the direction Reiner had shown. Inside of the hall Eren was deep in conversation with Armin over the theory lessons from the day before. Annie was sat towards the back of lobby, playing with the food on her plate. While Mina tried to interrogate her over her relationship status with Eren. When Bertolt walked through the doorway his eyes immediately settled on Annie and her azure eyes. Knowing that Eren was also in the room he tore his gaze from the girl and made his way towards Eren. When the green eyed boy noticed him, his eyes widened with worry. Seeing this Bertolt gave him an apologetic smile, he didn't want to embarrass him in front of everyone. Eren returned his smile with a small nod before returning to his discussion.

*Three hours later*

''Why did Bertolt look so sorry for himself?'' Annie asked as she stood over Eren.

''Oh...he was just...happy for us.'' He said picking himself up from the dirt. ''Anyway shouldn't you be teac-'' He never got a chance to finish. Annie rushed forward. She gracefully ducked under Eren's panicked punch, launching herself up from the ground Annie hooked one of her arms around Eren's neck, before he could react she kicked out one of his legs, causing him to tumble to the yelped in pain when he landed on a sharp rock. While he was coddling his bruised leg Annie made her move. She leaped up on top of him, Annie sat on his chest while straddling his waist with her legs.

''Do I win?'' She purred. Eren raised his fists to knock her off. Annie anticipated this move and pinned his wrists down above his head. ''I said. Do I win?'' Her face was now only inches from his. Eren made one last attempt to shake her off but Annie didn't budge a bit.

''Yes...you win...as usual.'' He sighed.

''JEAGER! LEONHART! SAVE YOUR LOVEY DOVEY TIME FOR WHEN I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! NOW GET UP. AND GET FIGHTING!'' The booming voice of Shardis shattered their moment. Annie reluctantly got off her partner and left to go find someone who could offer more of a challenge. As she walked by Reiner, who was busy trying to get past Ymir in order to talk to Krista. He shot her a look that Annie interrupted as two simple words.

_Be careful _


	10. With you at last

Hey dear readers. This is chapter 10. I never intended to make this story so big, it has only gotten here thanks you all of you. Anyway as you might have noticed the story is now rated M. This is because of sexual content and violence and gore oh and language. This is my first time writing sexual content so please review on how I can improve. Thanks and enjoy

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It had been three years since great fall of Wall Maria. It had been a year since Annie had joined the 104th Training Corps. It had been six months since she had her first kiss. The little girl who used to make tea for her father was gone. In her place stood a soldier who was haunted by her 'crimes'.

That day started just as any other. The now infamous morning bell shook the entire camp from their peaceful sleep. Moans and groans filled the barracks as one after another people grumpily woke from their slumber. Everything about this day seemed to be just like the other 365 before it. However on this day, Shardis had a treat planned for his victims.

LISTEN UP SOLDIERS!'' Shardis looked out and across the field of very tired looking recruits. ''TODAY. ONE YEAR AGO I LOOKED OUT ACROSS THESE BARRACKS. AND I SAW FLOCKS OF WORTHLESS PIGS, NOT WORTHY TO LICK THE SHIT FROM MY BOOT.'' He paused, a small and sharp smile picked at his lips. ''BUT NOW...NOW I SEE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN ON THE WAY TO BECOME FINE SOLDIERS.'' All eyes widened at the instructor. In all there many days of gruelling training and brutal punishments, no one had seen his ice cold eyes so full of pride. ''THAT IS WHY FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS. I WILL BE GIVING ALL OF YOU A LEAVE OF ABSENCE...enjoy yourselves. You have all earned it.'' His last words were quiet and the sharpness in his voice had been softened slightly as if he were talking to a friend. Shardis saluted, turned to his left and left the 104th Training corps without anything to do. It took a few minutes for the meaning of his words to sink in but very soon every member of the 104th was rushing around making plans to go home and see loved ones. But for some there were no loved ones to see.

Eren sat down in the mess hall, he watched as people hastily packed their bags with merry smiles spanning ear to ear. Eren however did not have one of these smiles. He had no bag to pack. No home to visit. No family to scold or hold all of this caused painful images of the smiling titan to dance into his mind. Mikasa had once explained to him how she experienced seeing images of her mother and father lying in a rapidly expanding pool of their blood. He could now understand how his adoptive sister felt. To escape the rapidly approaching headache that accompanied the graphic and bloody visualizations, Eren promptly left the dining hall to find some peace from the buzzing mass of people.

Annie was lying underneath a lone decrepit Ash tree that stood on top of a lonely hill which watched over the encampment. After hearing Shardis announce a three day release Annie had snaked between the waves of the rushing crowds, like her 'friends' she had no where to go during this hiatus. Her home was far far away, beyond the shattered remains of Wall Maria. Nestled in a vast and expansive valley. She could picture it now, her little cabin sitting parallel to the fast flowing river, the cold of the crisp morning air that brought her to life, the smell of simmering fish over the fireplace. The memories of home brought shiny tears to the corners of her sapphire eyes. Annie looked around her, to make sure she was truly alone. Satisfied that no one was around Annie let loose the tears that she had been holding back for the past three years. She hunched her shoulders and sobbed quietly, she made no attempt to wipe away the glossy tears that cascaded down her face. _You must atone for your actions. _Many people forgot that Annie was human, they saw her as a manifestation of anger and ice. But she wasn't. At least not all the time. She just wanted to be considered human as well. Annie brought her knees to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible. _You don't deserve any of what you have! _A sharp hiss rattled through her head. ''Shut up.'' Annie whispered. Over the past year Annie had heard countless stories of how the titans had ruined their lives. Of how brothers had lost sisters. Of how families had been literally torn apart by the giants she had lead. As a result of being constantly reminded what she had done Annie started talking to herself. In order to try and help her deal with another emotion Annie was new to. Grief.

_Get used to this feeling...Many more are going to die. Because of you.'' _The voice whispered with a hint of frosty humor._ ''_I said shut up_'' _Annie rubbed her temples to silence the snakes in her head. _Bertolt and Reiner could die…_ ''Stop it!'' Her voice was showing cracks. _Even..._ ''No! Don't say it.'' She begged. But the creature in her mind smiled at her suffering. _Even Eren will die because of...you _The beast in her mind emphasized the word 'you' with a stinging hiss.''STOP IT!'' Annie screamed with all her strength and the sharp hum in her head receded. Leaving in her in silence.

''Annie? Are you alright?'' Eren's voice made her flinch slightly.

Annie turned away from her approacher to wipe the glistening tears from her now red, stinging eyes. ''Ye-yeah I'm fine, just...I wanted to be alone.'' She said trying hide breaks in her voice.

''Well you're stuck with me, until you tell me why you have been crying.'' Annie cursed silently.

''Look. Eren, everyone is running around, like headless fucking chickens at the thought of going home.'' Annie beckoned Eren to sit next to her. ''But look at you...You're an orphan with nothing but crazy adoptive sister, a baby for a friend. And a bitch for a girlfriend.'' Annie noticed how Eren winced when she called him 'orphan'.

''Someone is in a good mood today.'' Eren scoffed, he sat down next to Annie and rested his throbbing head against the bark of the tree. Annie nuzzled his shoulder and sighed against his neck. ''Hey Annie...Tell me about your past.''

Annie's eyes shot open and she felt her heart stop in her chest. _What are you going to do now?_ The buzz in her head returned with a sly smile. ''No. I don't want to.'' Annie made sure that her voice was thick with ice.

''Okay. Why not?'' Annie was surprised by the maturity of his response.

Annie reached out and took Eren's hand, she guided it the pink area of scar tissue that lined her jawline and neck. Eren had noticed this defect on her milky skin while he was planting soft kisses on her collar bone. He wanted to ask her how she got it but he thought it might offend her. Annie inhaled sharply when his cold fingers danced over her sensitive mark. ''This is why I don't want to.'' Her voice was barely louder than a whisper. Eren knew that if he pried any deeper into the subject she would likely leave. After giving him a black eye. Annie dropped her hand to her side but Eren let his linger on her scar, Annie closed her eyes and a small smile of pleasure rose on her blushing face. His soft fingers frisked over the skin of her neck, he moved his digit further down her soft face. Eren gently guided her head towards his. Annie happily complied, she moved her own hand around the back of his neck, her fingers brushing through his oak brown hair causing him release a sigh of desire. When their lips first met six months ago they knew nothing about each others desires, but that was a long time ago. After half a year of learning each others every detail, every smell, sound and touch they knew how to make each other happy. Eren pushed his lips forward to meet his lovers, her pink soft lips melded perfectly against each others. However these delicate pecks were not enough to satisfy both Annie and Eren. Annie felt Eren's tongue prod at her lips. She loved making him wait for satisfaction. After making Eren wait for what felt like an hour, Annie rewarded his patience. The blond girl slowly parted her lips, Eren wasted no time in meeting Annie's tongue. She felt his hot tongue press against her own in the bridge between their mouths.

Eren reluctantly broke away from the heated embrace he waited so long for. However it was his turn to taunt her. Eren planted soft kisses along the length of Annie's cheek and jaw. He was following his usual path towards her pulse point. It didn't take long for Annie to pick up on his direction, she ran one of her shaking hands through his chestnut hair, she tugged at it gently whenever he found one of her many sensitive spots. The smile that dawned on her face widened in preparation for the electric sensation that was about to come flooding through her veins like liquid lightning...But it never came. Annie looked down at Eren with a look of longing and frustration on her face. Her lover was looking up at her with a devious smile that spanned from ear to ear.

Annie rolled her azure eyes at the boy, Eren's head was still in the crook of her neck. His hot breath was making Annie's knees shake. Seeing Annie melt in his hands and lips like this made Eren's heart swell. He calmly stood and offered his hand to Annie. She reached out and graciously accepted his gesture. As soon as Annie had gotten to her feet Eren enveloped her in his arms. A warm smile greeted her as Annie looked up at Eren. She simply rested her head in her usual spot on his chest. _Thump. Thump. _The soothing sound of his always strong and steady heartbeat forced the serpents in her mind to recoil into the depths of her consciousness.

''Stay with me tonight. Eren.'' Her voice was soft and gentle like the beat of a butterflies wings.

''But...What if someone sees us?'' Eren stuttered. He had never spent the night with Annie, apart from the cave on Rose Pass. He had always wanted to sleep with her in his arms. He just didn't know how to in an military installation.

''Please...Eren.'' Annie didn't want to spend another night alone at the mercy of the voices that haunted her sleep. Hearing the limp way she spoke caused Eren's chest to tighten as if a snake had coiled around him. Eren brushed a lock of Annie's pure and golden hair from her mesmerizing eyes and nodded.

They spent the rest of the day sparring. In a year Eren's fighting abilities were starting to show signs of improvement. He was still no match for Annie...but he was slightly better. ''Get up.'' Eren was surprisingly happy to hear frost return to her voice. Eren nimbly picked himself up and assumed the position Annie had demonstrated. He raised his fists until they were at eye level, he put his right foot back slightly and rested it on his toes. Annie exhaled as she prepared her next move. Then she saw an opening. Eren's fists were raised slightly too high, exposing his ribs and torso. Annie fought the urge to smile at his foolishness. Instead she would demonstrate the consequences of his error. Annie rushed forward, her ocean blue eyes were locked on her strike point. Once in range Annie stuck her left foot into the ground and twisted her hips. The momentum in her legs carried her other foot around in a wide arc that was aimed for Eren's side. Then he sprung his trap. Eren let his legs fall out beneath him and he fell to his knees. Annie's kick was now on a course with his neck and cheek. Eren raised one of his hands to his exposed neck to shield it from the impact and the other lied in waiting. Once Annie realised what was happening it was too late to stop. Her foot connected with Eren's hand and he released a dull growl of pain. Eren's other hand clasped over her ankle, using her own energy as weapon Eren carried her with the momentum of her own attack. As she flew threw the air Annie gritted her teeth waiting for the impact on the hard, rocky floor. Annie hit the floor with an audible 'crash'. Pain clouded her vision long enough for Eren to make his next move. He climbed on top of her and pinned her wrists down along side her head. He sat on her torso so her legs couldn't reach up and strike his neck.

''Where did you learn that move?'' Annie asked through her pain.

''Mikasa taught me, every night just before dinner. It took me weeks to get it right.'' The excitement in his voice made Annie chuckle. ''So...Do I win?'' He was so optimistic that Annie considered for a brief second that she should say yes. But she didn't. Annie noticed that one of Eren's hands that was clasping her wrist had a slightly looser grip. Annie quickly flicked her wrist and it came free much to Eren's surprise. He toppled forward at the loss of his support. Annie bucked her hips and twisted her entire body to one side. Eren came falling like a tower of blocks. Using all her strength and Eren's momentum Annie launched the boy from her body and he landed in a cloud of dust. Before he got a chance to get up, Annie had her boot placed on Eren's heaving chest.

''No...you don't win.'' Annie crossed her arms and smirked at her fallen lover. Eren returned her smile despite the pain in his back.

That evening the barracks was almost entirely abandoned. In fact when Eren and Annie went to the mess hall to find some food they found it to be completely empty. There many hours of exhausting training had given them both a ravenous appetite. With so many people away seeing family and loved ones, there was plenty of food in the store house. It didn't take long for them to prepare a stew made of turnips and leftover meat from the officers stash. As Annie sat down next to Eren she heard a faint hiss in the far reaches of her mind. She winced at the sound, Eren took notice of her pain. He slowly rested his hand on top of hers and gave it a light squeeze.

''Hey. What's up?'' His voice was gentle in her ears and she felt the hiss fall back into the darkness.

Annie took a spoonful of her steaming stew and nodded. ''I just had a headache.'' She smiled as the warmth from the hot broth flowed to her cold fingertips. _Technically that's true. _The serpent murmured. After that the snakes left her alone for the rest of dinner. Without the harsh words of her mind attacking her Annie could enjoy her meal with Eren in peace. They sat in a comfortable silence, their only conversation was expressed in soft smiles and gentle touches.

''Once again Annie...You're cooking was great.'' Eren smiled as he patted his now full stomach.

''Eren. It was stew made of, Turnips and leftovers.'' She gave him a sceptical look.

''What? It was...pretty good.'' He raised his hands in defence.

Annie rolled her beautiful eyes and sighed a familiar smile. ''Right...I am going to clean up. Wait for me outside of... The girls dormitory.'' Eren noticed that her snowy cheeks had suddenly turned a coral pink.

''Annie. What are you planning to do to me?'' His voice was shaking a little but Annie knew she heard a hint of optimism.

''Just shut up and be patient.'' Her blush intensified slightly. Eren nodded and watched as his lover left through the doorway.

_You're pathetic. _Even the sound of hot water drumming against her head could drown out the whispers in her ear. ''What are you talking about?'' Annie questioned as she let her golden hair flow free in the steamy air. _You are just using Eren as a way to silence m- _The harsh words never got a chance to manifest. Annie slammed her head against the hard wall of the shower. ''Don't.'' Her words were sharp enough that even the snakes retracted it's fangs. Sticky blood dripped into her vision from a cut across her forehead. Annie sighed and washed the gore from her face. She watched as the steam from her head danced into the air above her. ''This is your fault.'' Annie drummed her fists against her head and resumed her wash.

Annie left the shower cubicle after drying her hair and putting on her sweaty clothes. She jogged across the desolate field, in the distance Annie could make out a figure standing in front of the girls dorm. As she made her way towards the shadowy figure Annie looked up to the night sky and gazed at the countless stars that littered the sky. _Have fun Annie. _A sharp hiss forced her attention from the twinkling diamonds and onto the path in front of her. Before Eren had a chance to say hello Annie grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. They were the only ones inside at the time. But neither of them took any notice. All of their attention was on each other. Annie lead him towards her bunk and she nimbly climbed the ladder. Eren followed her, as soon as he sat down Annie's hands started to work at his shirt. With a quick flick of her wrists Annie pulled his shirt from his body and threw it off the bed. Her fingers danced across his toned torso and around his shoulder. Eren inhaled sharply as her hands frisked across his neck. His own hands were resting on her thighs, squeezing ever so gently. When Annie's hands had finished playing with his neck she pushed him down onto her bed by his shoulders. She straddled his hips with her own. Eren's fingers were tugging on her shirt in a futile attempt the remove the offending fabric. Annie laughed at his attempts, she wanted to wait and watch him struggle with her shirt but Annie didn't want to wait any longer.

She flung her shirt across the room, Annie watched as Eren's face light up in the darkness. Without her shirt Annie's body was exposed. Eren's jade eyes moved from her blue orbs, down her neck. Hovering momentarily on the pink scar on her jaw, down across her neck and collarbone. Across her chest. Over the rise of her breasts where his eyes lingered. Annie noticed the path of the eyes she loved so much. Annie slowly reached down and took one of Eren's hands and gradually brought it up to her chest. She laid his hand on top of one of her breasts and she moaned quietly at Eren's touch.

''Annie...'' His voice was so soft and so full of affection that Annie thought she might fall asleep to his gentle tone. ''Are you sure you want to do this?'' Eren had taken his hand from her chest and had rested it on one of her hot cheeks. Annie replied by meeting Eren's lips with her own. With a smile across his face Eren let his hand fall from her face and trail down her near flawless skin. Annie released a lustful sigh when Eren's hand brushed over her exposed chest. He let his finger dance over her toned and steady stomach.

''Please... Eren I want this. I want you.'' The words fell out of her quivering lips when Eren rested his hand on her hips.

''I...don't know what...to 'do' if you know what I mean.'' His voice was weak and filled with embarrassment.

Annie chuckled softly and moved her hands over his. ''Let me guide you.'' She purred. To get a better position Annie rolled off of Eren's chest and lied next to him with his hand in hers. Annie wriggled in the bed as she weaselled out of her trousers leaving them at the foot of the bed. She guided Eren's hand to the hem of her pants. Annie let Eren take the lead from here. He slowly slide his hand on top of her sensitive area. Annie released a long and low sigh, she looked up at Eren and gave him a tiny nod. Seeing that as his permission to go on, Eren slowly lets two of his fingers enter her. The effect is almost immediate, Annie's eye shot open when she felt his digit at her silken lips. Eren stroked her soft and perfect hair with his other hand, he brought it down to cheeks and she smiled. She truly smiled. A smile that only Eren could bring out of her. As he grew more confident with the situation Eren began to move his fingers back and forth slowly. ''Ah...Er-Eren.'' She sighed into the crook of his neck. The sound of his name caused Eren push his fingers deeper into the wettening sex of his lover. Annie had lost control of her breathing, her low sighs and turned to deep and lustful moans. When Eren started to move in rhythmic pace she felt her own hip moving with him. She inhales sharply when Eren pressed his lips to his favourite spot on her neck. Then lightning crashes through her body. She arches her back as she releases for the first time. A low cry escaped her when Eren withdrew his fingers from her now hot folds. Annie whispers his name against his skin, causing him to shudder.

''Are you okay Ann?'' His voice felt like a pillow against her ears.

''Yes...I am. I just didn't expect it to feel. That good.'' Annie's voice trembling almost as much as her legs. Eren rested his hand on her hip and smiled. ''Now it's your turn.'' She hummed. Eren raised an eyebrow to her statement, it raised even higher when she asked him to spit into her hand. Only when he felt her hand pulled at his belt did he understand. Eren took her belt and threw it from the bed, followed by his trousers and boxers.

''Pl-please...be gentle.'' All the confidence in his voice dropped once his boxers were gone.

Annie laughed quietly before slowly enveloping Eren's length is her hand. Eren swore when he felt her hand against his tender flesh. Annie didn't waste any time, she began to pump her arm up and down in time with her ragged breathing. The added lubricant let her hand slide over his member with frightening ease, Eren felt like his was going to melt in Annie's hand. She was squeezing down with just the right amount of pressure.

''A-An-Annie...I don't know how...how much longer...I can...last.'' His breathing was ragged against her skin. Eren was now bucking his hips in time with Annie's every stroke. Eren felt himself approaching an euphoric climax, but just as he was about to release Annie took her hand away, leaving Eren gasping at the sudden loss of contact. He tried to formulate a sentence but his voice was a rasping sigh.

Annie nestled her head on his shoulder whispered softly into his ear. ''Eren. I want you well...you know.'' The embarrassment in her voice made Eren's heart race. He nodded and linked his arms around her back and pulled her as close to him as possible. Annie sighed softly when she felt Eren's length pressing at her entrance. He shifted his hip until he felt his tip touch her soft lips. Eren slowly entered Annie, she winced slightly at the strange intrusion in her womanhood. A reassuring smile from Eren warmed her heart and caused the odd sensation to vanish, in it's place was a feeling an indescribable pleasure. Eren thrusted up deeper until he was in up to his hilt. Annie's shaking hands were on his hips, pushing him back then pulling him in with the rhythm of her breathing. Through muffled cries of his name Eren could tell that Annie was coming another powerful release.

''Eren...I'm almost...there.'' Her voice was hushed by a deep moan from Eren as he prepared for his own release. Eren looked at him with a questioning look. Annie read his expression and shook her head. Eren continued to drive their bodies together until Annie nodded at him. ''Eren...now!'' She cried. Eren pulled himself free of Annie's tight lips and climaxed over the bed sheets. Annie's climax followed shortly, she arched her back and bit down on Eren's shoulder.

They lied there for quite a while. Eren's arms were coiled around her back and her head was resting in her neck where she was panting softly. Eren took his arms away and beckoned Annie to get off the bed, she gave him a confused look but he waved her off. While she laid down on Mina's bed Eren stripped the bed of it's stained sheets and threw them away. He replaced them with a clean set. Without even having to ask him to, Eren picked Annie up like he did so many times in the past. He placed her down on the crisp sheets and climbed in behind her, Under the bed covers Annie was slowly drifting into a peaceful sleep protected by the body of Eren. Just as she was about to enter a blissful slumber. One of the snakes in her mind slithered out of it's dark nest. It coiled around Annie's mind and whispered.

_Goodnight Annie._

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A/N: Please Let me know what you thought of this chapter. The idea of Annie talking to the 'snake' came from a book I reading called Deadline . .scream. Anyway please review this chapter. I want to know what you guys think.

P.S: It's time for me to tell you to go and check out a story called 'An unbearable sight' by Ponderess. It is a wonderful interpretation of Annie's story.

P.P.S A big thank you to Naralynnia for helping me to improve my writing skill.


	11. Time to wake up

_A/N_: Hey Hey Hey. It's been a while. This one took me ages, I hope you guys like it. Also this thing has reached over 1500 views! That is madness, thank you to everyone who has read this.

Now it is the time where I ask you to read another story I have found. Please go and read 'Fire' by Ponderess. It is a wonderful story.

So please please Review this. I really want to here what you think. So until next time. See you later and enjoy the chapter.

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_Annie...Time to wake up_ A subtle buzz in the far reaches of her mind caused Annie to stir from her blissful sleep. Annie gave a sleepy yawn as her blue eyes slowly adjusted to the blinding morning light. Annie went to stretch her arms but a tiny smile curled on her lips when she found another pair of arms blocking her. Eren was still fast asleep. His body pressed against her own.

''Eren. Time to wake up.'' Her voice was a soft and gentle whisper. At the sound of her voice Eren began to wake from his slumber.

''Annie...'' He yawned. Annie untangled herself from her lovers limbs, she turned onto her side and stared into Eren's jade green eyes. Eren stared back into her flawless azure orbs and felt his heart melt. He brushed a lock of her golden hair from her cheek, he marvelled at how soft her skin was, it was one of the many things about her that perplexed him.

As Eren's fingers danced across her skin Annie closed her eyes, allowing herself to be engulfed by his warmth. ''Last night was...fun'' She mumbled into the crook of Eren's neck.

Eren chuckled as a vibrant blush rose up his cheeks. ''Yeah...it was...nice.'' Despite his best attempts to hide it, Eren's voice was filled with embarrassment. ''We should...get up and do...something.'' Eren suggested.

''Why should we? What if I want to lay in bed with you all day?'' Annie questioned with a hint of frustration in her voice.

''That's why.'' Eren took his hand from Annie's cheek and pointed to one of the bunks near the front door. It took Annie's eyes to adjust to the blinding sunlight but she could make out a person lying under the bed covers. A person with ebony black hair. And a crimson red scarf. Her tired eyes widened at the sight of Mikasa sleeping only a few meters away. ''Yeah... So, I think we should get up...quietly.'' He whispered into her ear. Annie nodded and slowly slipped out of bed. Eren averted his eyes from his naked lover as she dressed herself.

''You know. I don't mind if you look, we have nothing to hide from each other.'' Annie deadpanned. _Liar. _A sharp hiss rattled in her mind causing Annie to wince slightly. Eren kept his eyes covered and nodded slowly. ''Okay you can look now.'' Annie sighed. Eren slowly removed his hand from his eyes.

''O-Okay now, turn around.'' Eren's murmured. Annie stared at her lover with a look of mild irritation. She sighed and sulked towards the door.

''I will be in the mess hall.'' With that Annie slammed the door shut as hard as she could, causing the entire building to shake. The previously sleeping figure burst out of her sleep. Her ashen eyes scanning the room for the source of the noise. Eventually focusing on the fuming boy in Annie's bed.

''Mik-Mikasa...this isn't what it looks like.'' Eren's eyes were wide in horror. In his mind he was throwing curses at Annie.

Half an hour later Eren stumbled into the dining hall, with a look of exhaustion and anger on his face. ''You look like shit.'' Annie's voice came from across the room, she was sitting towards the back of the hall on a table with Reiner. Eren gave her an icy glare with his red and tired eyes. When he reached the table he sat down opposite Annie, his eyes flickering from his food to the girl in front of him.

Reiner gave a low whistle. ''Wow... I don't know you did to him Annie, but he looks pissed.'' Annie shot him a murderous glare. Reiner raised his hands in defence and snorted ''This is the time that I would make an excuse to leave, but...See you later.'' Reiner then stood up from the table and gave Eren a cheesy smile.

''Remind me never to sleep with you, while in the same room as Mikasa...Or anyone for that matter.'' His voice was dry and bitter.

''Why? Was I that bad last night?'' There was a mild sense of offence behind the ice in her voice.

Eren looked up from his plate. ''No you weren't bad at all. But having the 'talk' from Mikasa for half an hour...that is pretty bad.'' He visibly shuddered at the memory of Mikasa describing the ins and outs of the female anatomy.

Annie was grateful that the mess hall was abandoned, because everyone would of heard her burst out into laughter. After her fits of laughter had died down, Annie faced Eren. ''What did she say?'' She made no attempt to hide the curiosity in her voice.

''You sure you want to know?'' He raised an eyebrow to her. Annie slowly nodded, preparing herself for the answer. ''She wanted to know if...You know what, I don't want to talk about this. Lets go do something.'' Before she could protest Eren was dragging her out to the training field.

Annie lazily ducked beneath a fist that was aimed at her shoulder. Her attacker tumbled forward after failing to connect with his target, seeing her chance Annie lunged towards Eren, she gripped his collar in one hand and his extended arm in the other. As he fell Annie used his strength to throw him over her shoulders. Eren landed on the hard floor in a cloud of dust, he gritted his teeth as a fog of pain descended on him. ''You're still doing it wrong.'' Her voice was brimming with boredom. Eren looked up at her from the floor, he was too captivated by her power to listen to her. ''You have to flow with your enemy when fighting. If they go to throw you, simply move with it and redirect it...Are you listening?'' Annie stomped her foot down on Eren's stomach.

He was immediately awoken from his trance by the crushing pain in his gut. Eren keeled over and coughed violently. ''Ye-Yeah something about flowing and moving.'' He huffed. After removing Annie's boot from his chest Eren stood up and assumed the position that Annie had spent many weeks drilling into him.

''You sure you want to go again?'' She smirked and raised her fists. Annie didn't give him a single second to reply. She rushed forward, Eren's face turned pale as he watched Annie turn into a blur of golden hair and crystal blue eyes. Eren flailed his fists around him in panic, hoping that his sporadic strikes would connect. They didn't. Annie gracefully weaved between his jabs. Only once she had finished toying with him did she make her move. Moving as if her body were made of water, Annie closed the distance between them in a heartbeat. Seeing the devilish smile on her face caused Eren to release a barely audible whimper, he swung a fist in a final and pathetic form of defence. Annie took advantage of one of his swings, she grabbed one of his wrists in an iron like grip, she pulled him forwards, as he fell, Annie drove one of her knees straight into his already bruised abdomen.

Eren barked as all the air in his body was forced out of him. After writing on the floor for several minutes Eren painfully picked himself up. ''I'm starting to think...'' He paused to cough. ''That you enjoy hurting me.'' He gave Annie a cheesy smile.

Annie giggled softly. He was the only one to make her feel like this. In a way, it frightened her. ''Well maybe if you listened to me, you would end up on your ass all the time.'' Her voice melted into the light breeze.

Eren went to make a sarcastic comment about her teaching methods, when he realised...She was right. ''Actually...That's a good point.'' The look of shock in Annie's crystal eyes made Eren laugh horsely. ''While you struggle to believe that I admitted you were right. I'm going to get some water.'' Eren ran off with a wide and childish smile on his face.

_Finally! I bet you forgot I was here. _Now Eren was gone the hiss in her mind slithered out of it's dark hole. ''What do you want?'' Annie mumbled as she sat down in the shade of a nearby tree. _I don't want anything. _The hiss transformed into a dull buzz as the voice settled in for a full conversation. ''If you don't want anything then go away.'' Her voice was icy and thick with anger. _Why would I go away? You made me. _With every word the voice was slowly becoming more human. Frighteningly human. ''If I made you...Why can't I make you go away?'' Annie retorted as she wiped the beads of sweat from her brow. _I thought you were smarter than this Annie...You want me to stay._ Anyone who had been listening to her might think she had gone mad, especially if they heard the dry and tasteless laugh that spilled out of her. And someone had heard her. _You can't deal with grief very well, so your subconscious made me. _The voice had returned to it's distinctive hiss. Annie sighed, she knew it was right she just didn't want to accept it. ''Can I ask you something?'' A loud booming noise echoed through her head as the snake laughed like a child. _As if I could say no, you idiot. _Annie looked around to make sure she wasn't being watched. ''Why do you shut up only when Eren is around?'' Annie could almost imagine the evil grin on the snakes imaginary face. _It's fun to watch you act...Human, when we both know you're a monster. _Annie banged her head against the tree she was resting on and the snake retreated.

''Who were you just talking to?'' The voice came from seemingly no where. Annie would have thought it was the snake again but this voice was human. Annie stood up to find the new voice. It didn't take her long. Mikasa emerged from her hiding spot from behind a storage shed.

''Doesn't matter. It's none of your business.'' Annie added as much frost to her tone as possible.

Mikasa's glare didn't falter at all. ''You are bad for him.'' The hole her words punched in Annie's chest was deeper than anticipated. ''All you do is fight him. I have never seen you show even the...Slightest bit of affection or care towards him. And I have been watching very closely.'' Annie felt a small bead of sweat trickle down one of her cheeks. _Oh...This just got interesting. _

''Go away.'' Mikasa didn't know Annie was talking to both of the irritating voices.

In the corner of the onyx haired girls eyes she could Eren jogging towards them with two canteens in his hands. Knowing her time was short Mikasa leaned in towards Annie, she only stopped her advance when Annie took a nervous step backwards. ''I promised I would protect him from those who would hurt him. That means people as well, not just Titans.'' If Mikasa had been talking to anyone else, they would have been forgiven for passing out but Annie was not anyone else. Annie instead hardened her icy glare.

''Hey! What's going on here?'' Eren was more than just slightly concerned by the sight of Annie and Mikasa giving each other murderous glares.

Deciding that having a stare down with Mikasa was a waste of time and a bad idea, Annie broke her glare and looked over at Eren. ''Nothing.'' She swiftly grabbed Eren's collar and dragged him away.

Once they were out of sight Mikasa let out an exasperated sigh. ''You pissed off as well?'' A friendly voice came from behind her, as she turned to see who had snuck up on her. Mikasa turned to see that she was staring at the shoulders of the voice. She craned her head up at Bertolt.

''What are you talking about?'' Mikasa and Bertolt shared a hatred for Eren and Annie's relationship, just for different reasons.

''I can tell, just by looking at your face that Annie pissed you off.'' Bertolt had the strange ability to read people just looking at them.

''I just feel that...She is going to hurt him. He and Annie don't know what they are doing. Eren wants to join the Survey corps and Annie is going off to the Military police.'' She sighed.

''For now...All we can do is trust them.'' The hesitation in his voice was all too obvious.

''We both know you don't believe that.'' There was a trace of dry humor in her voice. They left their conversation at that, both of them knowing that they would talk again.

''Annie! You can stop now.'' Eren was kicking the dirt as Annie pulled him behind the mess hall. Annie released his shirt and sat down with her head against the wall.

''I don't think your sister likes me.'' Even Eren was surprised by the level of sarcasm in her voice.

''Whatever makes you think that?'' Eren tried to imitate Annie's tone.

She shot him a cold stare. ''What are we going to do about her?''

''Nothing.'' He quickly replied. ''It doesn't matter if she approves or not.'' He added.

''Once again, I find myself astonished by your maturity.'' She gave him a small smile. Which he returned. Eren sat down next to her and intertwined his fingers with hers. _Here we go again _Annie's winced at the sudden attack by the snake.

''Hey, what's up?'' Eren gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

''It's... nothing but Eren...Could you take my mind off it...Please.'' Her words were so soft that she thought Eren might not hear them. But he did. The concern in his eyes slowly ebbed away, replaced by a gentle and warm look that made Annie's lips curl into one of her very rare and, to Eren, precious smiles. Without asking anymore questions, Eren brought Annie's hand to his lips. He placed a kiss that was even softer than her words on her pale skin. Once he took his lips away from her hand he began to move them towards her neck, where pure bliss awaited Annie. She tilted her head up, slightly exposing as much of her skin as she could. His lips brushed against her collarbone and she hummed gently in response, urging him to go on. In reply Eren frisked his hot lips over the bottom of her neck. Annie instinctively grabbed a fistful of Eren's chocolate hair and tugged it with each of his heavenly kisses. Annie tried her best to remain composed during the embrace but as soon as he made contact with the 'spot' on her neck she knew that was going to be impossible. Low moans of pleasure escaped Annie's quivering lips as Eren's own lips worked around her neck and jawline. Then he tried something new. Eren let his teeth gently graze along her pulse point. The effect was immediate, Annie's perfect icy eyes widened as electricity flooded every vein in her body. Eren withdrew from his lover and looked up at her, Annie was visibly shaking as pleasure in it's purest form danced through her entire being. ''Do th-that again.'' She whispered through short, shaking breathes. With a wide smile on his face Eren happily obliged. Annie closed her eyes and waited for the electrifying sensation. She didn't have to wait long. Eren pressed his lips against her shoulder and laid a trail of warm kisses along her shoulder and neck, when he reached her pulse point Eren pressed his teeth against her skin and savored the long and exaggerated moan that escaped her shaking lips. It still wasn't enough to satisfy her though. Annie pulled away from Eren and pushed him against the wall of the hall.

''Wha-what are you...doing?'' Annie's sudden movement had startled him.

''Less talk.'' Her hands were trembling slightly at the loss of Eren's lips. Annie sat on Eren's lap and pressed herself against him, she straddled his hips with her legs to make sure he couldn't shake her off. Not that he would want to. Annie leaned her head down to Erens, they looked into eachothers eyes They could stay like that forever, azure blue gazing into jade green, they could spend a hundred years staring into each others eyes. They just didn't want to at this particular moment. It was Annie who sealed their lips first, Annie's lips brushed against Eren's lips and as she pulled away Eren followed her. Once again she had managed to captivate him with such little effort. However as soon as Eren's teeth ghosted across her hot skin Annie knew she too was being entranced by her lover. Unlike last time, Eren was being slightly more ambitious with his kisses. Annie ran her fingers through his hair, pushing his lips closer to her skin. Every time she felt Eren nibble gently on her neck felt euphoric. His teeth were sending sparks are dizzying pleasure through her body, from her neck down her chest and through her arms to her fingertips. ''Eren...'' Her voice was weakened from the warmth that was rapidly spreading around her body. At the sound of her voice Eren bit into her once more before slowly pulling away, as he did Annie gasped at the cold air that filled the void Eren's lips had left.

''Feel better now?'' Unlike Annie, Eren's words were unshaken. He moved one of his hands to cup one of her cheeks. She relished his touch and held his hand there.

''A little bit, the tooth thing was a...very good idea.'' Her lips curled into a small smile. ''However.'' Annie leaned into Eren's ear. ''You still have got a little room for improvement.'' Her voice had regained its strength.

Eren chuckled softly. ''You know what they say. Practice makes perfe-'' The rest of his sentence died in his chest as Annie drove her fist into his chest.

''Don't interrupt me. I was going to add that, maybe. Tonight we sleep in your bed.'' She purred as Eren gasped for breath ''I will let you think about that, while I go get something to eat.'' Annie didn't bother waiting for a reply, she could see the answer in the deep red blush that was rising in his cheeks. Annie slowly left the shadows that hide them and gave Eren a sly smile before leaving to make some food. _You are an awful liar Annie. _Without Eren to ward it off, the snake had slithered out the dark recesses of her mind. ''Not now.'' Annie's voice had changed. The ice had been replaced by thick and burning anger.

''Were you followed?'' Reiner was standing on the lips of the forest. Bertolt was standing beside him, his normally grey eyes that were always so full of life were gone. Instead they were a dark and emotionless ashen grey.

''I'm not a moron. Of course not.'' The anger in her voice subsided.

''That is a matter of opinion.'' Bertolt muttered to himself.

Annie was about to snap at Bertolt for muttering when Reiner cut her off. ''Come on, we have to talk.'' Without another word the trio left into the woods. Annie noticed how Reiner's expression had changed from stoic and proud to something else. After about ten minutes of hiking through the foliage Reiner came to a stop. ''You know why we are here.'' He gave Annie a venomous glare. ''Our next job is to destroy Wall Rose.'' Bertolt visibly finched at the way his friend spat the words.

''When?'' Annie didn't want to be here, she wanted to far away from this place. She wanted to be somewhere where she didn't have to kill and destroy.

''The day after the graduation ceremony.'' Annie got what she wanted, she turned on her heels and left the clearing. ''Annie...'' Reiner's voice followed her. ''Remember what we are.''

_I hate to agree with that ox but...I do. _The buzz in her head settled down. ''What am I then?'' Annie felt her voice crack slightly.

_That is easy...you're a monster. _


	12. Paths

A/N-Hello wonderful people! Over 1'800 views! Every single one makes me ssooo happy. There is more sexual content in this chapter so you have been warned.

So please review. Reviews are really really important to me.

P.S- Please go and read a wonderful little story called 'Summer Blooms' by captinamerica-owl. It is a wonderful Bertolt and Annie story.

So yes please review/follow and favourite and see you for chapter 13 and enjoy :D

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Eren was smiling like a child waiting to open their first present on his birthday. The choosing ceremony was only two weeks away. He had to wait only two more weeks until his three years of brutal training were finally over. He had to wait only two more weeks until he could finally join the Survey Corps. Only two weeks until he would never see Annie or her entrancing cobalt eyes again. At that terrifying thought his smile died. _Never see her again..._ The colour in face drained away, leaving him a ghostly white. Eren felt his heart being torn in two vastly different directions. He wanted to leave the walls and kill every last titan he could see. He also wanted to be with Annie for the rest of his life, the thought of leaving her alone causing his chest to hurt.

''Eren?'' Mikasa's concerned voice awoke him from his trance.

Eren shook his head to clear the thoughts from his mind, he turned to face her. ''Sorry, but have you seen Annie?'' Mikasa scowled momentarily and pointed towards the river that ran through the woods. Eren thanked her quickly and ran out of the door and into the evening sun.

Annie was sat under against a large boulder that sat on the edge of the twisting river. She brought her knees against her chest, in her head she could hear the snake laughing at her despair. _Oh Annie...They warned you about this. _The hum of its voice was frighteningly human. ''Go away.'' Her voice was tired and emotionless. The past three years of her life had been by far the best. Thanks entirely to Eren. She thought back to when she first saw him, all those years ago in Trost. Her lips curled up into a tiny smile at the memory of Eren getting up after his hundredth beating. _You know...You could choose another path. _The hiss rattled through her head. ''What are you talking about?'' The bitterness in her voice made the snake giggle. _I will let you figure that out. _With that the buzz disappeared as fast as it had appeared. ''Well that was helpf-'' It then dawned on her. ''I could choose another path!'' She whispered.

''ANNIE.'' Eren's voice came booming through the forest. He came bursting out of the trees, his eyes scanning the clearing. A wide and warm smile dawned on his face when his eyes came to a stop on Annie. ''Hey. What are you doing out here?'' Eren slowly walked towards her.

''Eren...Don't join the Survey Corps.'' She turned to face him. Eren stopped in his tracks and looked at his lover with a gaze full of sadness.

''You know I can't do that.'' While his tone was gentle and warm, his words were cold and poisonous.

''WHY?'' Annie screamed, she stood up from her rock, the burning fury in her eyes caused Eren to take a step back.

''Annie...'' He whispered.

''Why do you have to give your life for these people?'' Her voice was cracking. ''Please join the Military police with me.'' Tears were starting to form in her burning eyes.

''I won't join those pigs.'' Eren spat.

''Then join the Garrison or whatever. Just not the Survey Corps.'' Annie felt her knees begin to buckle.

''You know I have to do this.'' Eren took a step towards her. ''I want a life outside the walls.'' Another step forward. ''I want to make a world where you can be safe.'' He closed the distance between them, Eren was standing with a hand on her trembling shoulder.

''I don't want you to die for me.'' The first of many tears started to roll down her pale cheeks.

''What makes you think I am going to die?'' He chuckled softly.

''Nothing can beat them. Trust me on this.'' Annie wiped the tears away with her hand.

''If I don't fight. I can't win.'' The memory of Eren picking himself up from the dirt after their first fight flashed in front of her.

''But if you don't fight, you can survive.'' Her voice was a mere whisper.

''I am going to do this Annie. Please, don't make it any harder.'' He wiped away one of her shining tears with his thumb.

''I can't let you kill yourself. I won't lose the only thing in my life...That makes me happy.'' She looked up at Eren, his jade green eyes were filled with despair and sadness. ''There has to be another way...Please Eren.'' The way she whispered his name caused tears of his own to well up in his eyes.

''If I do join the Garrison...Then all of the people who have died in the Survey Corps would have died for nothing.'' He paused and cupped one of her cheeks in his hand. ''All of my friends will die for nothing.''

Annie's lips were moving before she could stop them. ''Be selfish. For me, just this once. Let them die. Just don't do this.''

Hurt momentarily flashed across his face, but it was quickly replaced by a gentle and warm smile. ''You know me better than that.'' Annie pressed her face against his hand. ''I won't bother trying to convince you to join the Corps with me, because I know you too well.'' Eren took a small step forward. ''If you join the Military police...I know you will be safe.''

''What about you then?'' There was a sting in her voice.

''I have spent three years training. I can look after myself.'' Eren took his hand away from her face and let it rest on her shoulder.

''THIS ISN'T A GAME ANYMORE!'' Annie yelled. ''If you go out there and...fail, you don't get to try again the next day.'' Eren pulled Annie towards him and enclosed her in his arms. ''Don't die...Please don't die.'' Annie cried into his chest, Eren brushed his hands through her golden hair. ''Promise me.''

''What are you talking about?'' Eren wiped away another glimmering tear from her red eyes.

''Promise me you won't die.'' Their eyes met in a second that seemed to last a hundred years.

''You know I can't do that.'' He wanted to promise her that he wouldn't die, he really wanted to.

''Promise me.'' Her words were sterner and her tears stopped falling.

''Annie. Don't make me prom-'' Annie shot out her fist and it connected with his gut.

''Promise me Eren. Promise me that you won't die.'' Annie readied her fist for another jab.

''I promise you that I won't die.'' He paused to sooth his bruised gut. ''Just don't hit me again.''

Annie giggled despite the stinging tears in her heart and eyes. Eren leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. When Eren pulled his lips away, Annie turned her head to observe to stunning sunset. The flawless blue sky of the day had been plunged into a burning orange with streaks of crimson red light staining the peachy sky. A gentle zephyr blew through the clearing, causing lush summer leaves to dance in the breeze. Annie followed their journey and watched as they came to a stop in the river. A thought then popped into her head. _You have got to be kidding me Annie… _''Eren...I still don't want you to join the Survey Corps, but we both know how stubborn you are. So when you make into the Corps...Please. Just write to me. Every now and again.'' Annie reached out and intertwined her fingers with Eren's. ''Also as punishment for pissing me off, I have a little plan for you.'' She leaned into his ear and purred.

''Does it involve you beating me to a squishy pulp?'' Eren raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude.

''If you say no then I will beat you into a bloody mess.'' Annie cracked her knuckles to enforce her point.

''So what is it then?'' He asked hesitantly.

''Lets go for a swim.'' Annie pointed towards a large and deep pool at the bottom of the river.

''Swim?'' Eren was taken back by the request.

''Yes...as in swimming...In the water.'' Annie began to jog to the pool. She had always wanted to go swimming with Eren in their three years of training but being able to swim was never part of their military training. Eren followed her, once he reached to edge of the pool he began to pull his shirt over his head. Annie saw her chance and as he lifted the fabric over his face, Annie kicked him in the back. Eren tumbled forward into the cold water below.

''ANN-'' The rest of his words were drowned out by a loud splashing noise Eren made when he plunged into the water. Annie broke out into hysterical laughter at the sight of Eren struggling to remove his soaked shirt and stay afloat at the same time. After much difficulty Eren removed his shirt and threw the dripping fabric at Annie. She lazily dodged the projectile and stared at Eren with a look of disappointment.

''Is that the best you could do?'' She scoffed.

Eren scowled at her. ''You could have at least let me take my clothes off first.''

''Where is the fun in that?'' Annie said as she lifted her shirt over her head. Eren was about lecture Annie on how long it would take him to dry his clothes. But his words died in his throat at the sight in front of him. Annie was standing on the lip of the pool, the fiery reds and oranges of the evening sky enveloped her figure, reflecting off her blond locks. Eren's wide eyes trailed down her snow kissed skin. His gaze moved down her entire being. From her ocean blue eyes, down her sensitive and pink neck. Across her alluring chest where his eyes lingered on her cloud white bra momentarily. Annie loved the look of awe on Eren's face, seeing him in such shock made Annie's heart race. She shifted her stance slightly to give Eren and even more appealing view. She watched as Eren admired her taut and toned stomach. ''See something you like?'' Annie purred. Eren was abruptly awoken from his blissful trance. Looked up and met Annie's lustful eyes. To hide his obvious blush Eren dived under the icy water. Annie laughed quietly before diving gracefully in after him.

The water was cold against Annie's bare skin, it wasn't as chilly as she feared but it still took her breath away. Annie quickly found that the pool was far deeper than she had anticipated. It didn't frighten her, ever since she could walk Annie's father had taught her how to swim. As a result she was an incredible swimmer. After surfacing for air Annie looked around the crystal surface, Eren was no where to be seen. ''Eren? Don't tell me you can't swim.'' No reply. Annie looked around her, the glassy surface of the lake showed no sign of anyone else in the water. _You never asked if he could swim...Did you? _The snake sounded almost disappointed. ''I just assumed he could.'' She retorted. Annie was about to go look for her missing lover when something grabbed her legs with an iron grip.

Much to her surprise and terror, Annie found herself being thrown clear out of the water. She yelped as she flew through the air. Annie landed, causing a huge plume of water to erupt from the lake.

Eren burst out of the water and after catching his breath and coughing up a worrying amount of water, he gleamed at Annie with a childish smile. ''Got you then. Didn't I?'' He swam quickly towards Annie who was shooting murderous glares at him. Eren reached out to take Annie's hand in his own, but Annie had other plans. She lunged forward and despite the water slowing her down she moved with incredible grace and speed. Annie trapped Eren's face in her iron grasp, panic flooded through Eren's body. With all her might Annie plunged Eren below the surface. ''Don't. Do. That. Again.'' She wasn't sure if Eren could hear her but it didn't matter, Annie had made her point very clear. Once she was done torturing her boyfriend, Annie let Eren surface for air.

''What...'' He paused to catch his breath. ''Was that for?'' He spluttered.

Annie smirked. ''That was for being so stubborn about the Survey Corps and for scaring me.'' Eren looked at his lover and smiled.

They spent the rest of the evening trying to prove who the better swimmer was. After many hours of tiring exercise Eren sat on the edge of the pool panting heavily. ''Okay...I give...Up'' He looked up to see Annie still doing laps of the lake. Eren was amazed at how good of a swimmer she was. Annie was cutting through the water like it were nothing to her. ''How...Do you have...So much energy?'' He huffed.

Annie noticed Eren was resting on the grass, a warm sensation coursed through her body when she saw the deep and loving smile on his lips. After one more lap Annie made her way towards Eren. ''Tired already?'' Annie said as she lifted herself clear of the water.

''I'm surprised you're not.'' Eren said as he passed one the towels he had retrieved before the swim. Annie thanked him as she dried her face and hair. Eren looked towards the sky as he dried his torso. ''Annie, its getting pretty dark. We should head back soon.'' Annie took the fabric from her hair and craned her head to the sky. Eren was right. The bright and vibrant yellow from before had faded, replaced by a deep crimson glow. The warm oranges of the sun had disappeared and in their place was the dark ebony horizon of the night.

''I think you're right.'' Annie turned to face him. ''But a fragile maiden like me, might get lost in the dark.'' She made her voice as weak as possible.

''We wouldn't want that, now would we?'' Eren stood and offered his hand to Annie. ''As a gentleman I will escort you to your room.''

Annie accepted his hand and she pulled herself to her feet. ''Also a young lady like myself is afraid of the darkness.'' It was taking all of what little self-control she had left to stop herself from laughing.

Eren however couldn't keep up the act. Eren had burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Once he recovered from his fit, Eren wiped the tears of laughter from his jade green eyes. ''Well, what would you have in mind?'' He snickered.

''Unfortunately the girls dorm is filled with...girls. So that leaves...'' She paused to ponder where might be empty at this hour.

''The infirmary!'' Eren shouted. Annie hummed, approving of his decision. She was about to make a sarcastic comment about Eren's surprising intelligence but by the time she opened her mouth Eren was pulling her towards the infirmary.

The couple stealthily navigated their way through the training camp, they avoided the glowing lights coming from buzzing mess hall and the gentle candle light of the dormitories. With surprising ease they made it to the infirmary without alerting anyone. After making absolutely sure that the building was empty Annie and Eren entered. Eren had been to the infirmary enough times to know its layout off by heart, so the cloak of nighttime darkness wasn't much of a problem. After finding the largest and most comfortable bed Eren wanted to show Annie just how important she was to him.

Annie pushed Eren back onto the bed. He fell back onto the mattress and looked up at Annie with eyes full of desire. She fell on him, Annie ground her body against Eren's. A wide smile dawned her face when she heard Eren release a heavy sigh, Annie leaned down until her lips were mere inches from his. She let Eren close the distance. He pressed his hot and dry lips against hers, this time it was Annie who begged for entry into Eren's mouth. He didn't hesitate in parting his lips, Annie slipped her tongue into Eren's entrance. They met in a heated embrace both of them trying to prove to the other just how powerful they were. Annie moaned into Eren and a sly smile rose on his occupied lips. Annie decided that kissing simply wasn't enough to satisfy her, as she lifted to pull away Eren lifted his head to follow her, unwilling to break the kiss. ''Eren...We are about to have sex. So that means the clothes have to come off.'' She purred into his ear. Her hands were tugging at the hem of his cotton shirt. Eren saved her the trouble, in one fluid motion he threw his top across the room. Annie wasted no time in letting her hands frisk Eren's well defined chest. Eren hummed in primal pleasure as Annie let her fingers glide over everyone of his taut abs. Once her hands reached Eren's waistband she stopped and leaned into Eren. ''You don't expect me to do all the work...Do you?'' She whispered seductively.

Eren chuckled softly and let his trembling hands get to work. Annie leaned back on Eren's hips causing him to moan softly. After Eren composed himself he started to lift the fabric that was obstructing his view of Annie's flawless skin. Even in the blackness of night Annie could see the burning blush that was rising on his neck and cheeks. As soon as the shirt had been removed from Annie's body, she reached down and took one of his shaking hands. Annie guided his hand to one of her breasts. Once his fingers made contact with her sensitive skin she threw her head back and moaned into the night air. Eren on the other hand frowned, her bra was still standing between his hands and her soft breasts. Annie read his expression and smirked, she reached behind her back and unclipped her bra. It fell from her body and Eren gleamed childishly. Annie shifted her position slightly, she stopped when she felt something pressing against the inside of her thigh. ''Someone is excited tonight.'' Annie whispered as she pressed her hips against the bulge in Eren's pants.

''How could I not be?'' He joked. ''A beautiful girl is sitting on top of me, without any clothes on.'' Eren pressed his hand against one of her cheeks. He gently guided her face down towards his and whispered in her ear. ''Tonight...You are in control, anything you want me to do. I will do. For you.''

Annie pulled back slightly and looked into his lustrous green eyes with a raised eyebrow. ''Oh...Will you.'' She ran her fingers through his oak hair. ''Well then...If I am in control.'' Annie leaned in until she could feel Eren's hot breath on her face. ''I want you to make me feel amazing tonight.'' Annie tugged on a lock of his hair.

Eren looked into her perfect and dazzling crystal blue eyes. ''Happily.'' His words were steady and unwavering. Eren gave her a loving smile, he slowly eased Annie from upon him and onto the soft mattress. Annie's eyes fluttered shut as Eren's fingers danced across her breasts and lingered on her soft flesh. Annie released a prolonged and shaky sigh as his hands traced her toned abs and snow white skin. Eren sat between her spread legs with his hands resting softly on her hips. Annie slowly opened her eyes and saw Eren looking directly at her, as if she could read his expression Annie smiled and gave a small nod in reply. Eren returned her smile before returning his attention to Annie's thighs. Annie rested her head back against the pillow behind her and moaned loudly the moment Eren's lips pressed against the inside of her leg. Unlike before his lips were no longer dry, every time his hot, wet lips frisked the delicate skin of her thigh Annie felt lightning spark through her entire existence.

''E..Eren. Please...Higher.'' Annie was surprised by how much her voice was trembling, in her two and a half years of being with Eren, it always shocked her how much pleasure he could cause to flood through her tiny body. On command Eren moved his head further up the gap between her legs until his lips were tantalizingly close to her silken lips. Annie clenched her fists into the folds of the bed covers, every time Eren kissed the edges of her womanhood she felt herself buck her hips out of primal lust. ''P-p...Please do it...Eren...I need you.'' Annie's voice was cracking under the bliss that was rocketing through her veins. Annie couldn't see the wide smile that spanned from ear to ear on Eren's face. The moment Eren pressed his lips in the very center of her sex, Annie had to bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. She bucked her hip once more, forcing Eren to press himself against her even harder. Eren proceeded to pepper her sensitive spot with hot, passionate kisses. With every contact of his lips, Eren was becoming more confident. He decided to try and take Annie to a new level of euphoria. He prodded his tongue at her moist vaginal lips. Annie's eyes shot open and her entire body shuddered, from tips of her clenched finger to the ends of her curling toes.

''Are you okay Ann?'' His voice was thick and overflowing with lust.

Annie exhaled slowly before answering. ''Whatever you just did...Do it again.'' She had steadied her voice to the best of her ability. Eren obliged without argument. He lowered himself back to his previous position. Eren began peaking her legs as he began his journey up her slender legs, towards her soft entrance. Annie hummed as Eren ran his tongue across the pink skin of her inner leg, but it wasn't enough for Annie. ''Eren..Skip the formalities and just do it.'' She urged. Eren laughed softly but he complied. He placed his tongue towards the bottom of her moist labia, with one long lick he brought Annie to a powerful climax. She arched her back and screamed silently into the ebony darkness. Eren climbed up and lied down next to his panting lover.

It took a few minutes before Annie was capable of speaking and when she did it was in a quiet and trembling whisper. ''That...was incredible, it felt like...I can't describe it.'' She turned on her side to face Eren who was smiling radiantly.

''I will take that as a thank you then.'' Eren jested. He leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. ''I guess we better get to bed before someone notices we are missing.'' Eren sighed as he looked out the window. Annie nodded in agreement and sat up on the bed but when she tried to stand her knees immediately buckled. Eren rushed down and caught her. ''Woah. Are you okay?''

''Yeah I'm fine. I guess my legs are just a bit...weak at the moment.'' She tried to hide the blush that was rapidly rising on her cheeks. ''I guess I will sleep here tonight. Goodnight Eren.'' Eren stood up and made his way to the door. ''Eren...Remember your promise.'' She called to him but he was already gone. _Remember what I told you about choosing different paths _The snakes words were a cruel lullaby that sent her off into an uneasy sleep.

*two weeks later*

''DEDICATE YOUR HEARTS!'' The head of the Training corps bellowed out to the courtyard. Everyone one in earshot of the commander struck their right fist over their heart and the left fist resting on their lower back. ''Today you will be given three choices.'' He paused to look over the graduates. ''You can join the Garrison, protecting the towns and Walls.'' Another pause. ''The Survey Corps who risk their lives in Titan territory...Or the Military Police who protect the king and lead the people.'' Standing in front of the silver haired man were ten members of the 104th Training corps. The top ten members of the 104th Training corps.

The celebration hall was buzzing with the shouts of newly graduated soldiers.

''We finally did it! Someone howled.

''Three years of hell have finally paid off!'' Another yelled.

''We won't go hungry anymore!'' Someone else shouted.

Annie was not among those who were celebrating. She had sat down as far from other people as she could. From her isolated corner, Annie could see Eren shouting out at a blonde boy called Thomas about killing the Titans. _He is acting like a child _Said the snake. ''He is stronger than most of us here.'' She retorted. _Are you so sure he is so strong? _A stinging hiss rattled her mind. Annie turned back to Eren who was running out of the hall with tears in his teal eyes. Annie stood from her table and raced out after him before Mikasa had a chance to react.

''Hey. You're a soldier now, so stop crying.'' The ice in Annie's voice made Eren laugh dryly.

''Sorry I just got, riled up.'' He wiped the tears from his cheeks.

Annie went to sit down next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and nuzzled his neck. ''You know. I am going to miss beating you into the dirt everyday.''

Eren laughed a laugh full of love and sadness. ''I'll miss you too.'' He scoffed. Those were their last words to each other that night. The next day would bring only blood and chaos but only one of them knew that.

The next day Eren was looking out, over the city of Trost with a wide grin on his face. With the rest of cannon maintenance team 4, When all hell broke loose.

Annie was looking over the edge of Wall Rose, in the back of her mind she was expecting to see a flash of brilliant lightning strike from the sky. The air was so silent around her. _Annniiieeee…. _The snake slithered out of it's pit. ''What do you want now?'' Annie asked. _Do you remember where Eren was stationed today? _The creature bared its fangs. ''Of course I do. Fixed Cannon...Maintenance...Team...Four.'' With every word horror dawned on her face. Annie turned to the main gate of Trost. She turned to run to Eren.

But all she saw was a bolt of yellow lightning crashing down from the sky. And the Colossal Titan towering over the wall...Towering over Eren.

_Let it begin..._With those words. Began a day that would leave an ugly scar branded into Annie's memory.


	13. Play time is over

**A/N: First of all...This was really really tough to write. I had to re-write it twice because I wasn't happy with it. I am still not very happy with this chapter. **

**Please Please review this chapter. I really want to know what you think of my stories. Also do me a BIG favour please check out my other stories. **

**So it's time for me to demand that you go read a wonderful Bertolt x Ymir story called ''Baby Fubar'' by 'Decorafeminae' It is a really lovely story. **

**So see you next time for the next chapter. I know I bug you to review but it is to make my story better for you. So yeah...SEE YA AND ENJOY **

* * *

For a horrifyingly long second everything was still. The air, the people, even the Colossal Titan was still. But not for long. With a single strike of its gargantuan foot, humanities greatest enemy blew a hole not just in Wall Rose but also in the minds of every single person. On that day no one would forget any of the gory details.

No matter how many times she saw it, Annie always found herself in awe of the Colossal Titan. The way it towered over the great walls ignited a fire inside of her chest. But right now her ocean blue eyes were not locked on the Titan, her gaze was focused on the single foolish soldier trying to fight it. It didn't take her long to figure out who that foolish person was. Who else was it going to be? The snake chuckled.

Annie wanted to run to him. She wanted to tell to stop being such a fucking idiot, but she knew by the time she reached him it would all be over. So Annie decided to watch. Her icy eyes followed the figure that was dancing around the Titan. _He can certainly move._ The creature said, ''He sure can.'' Annie was glad that the rest of her squad had disappeared to find safety. If they had stayed on the Wall they would have had to listen to Annie talking to herself, which might have scared them almost as much as the Colossal Titan. _Do you think he can beat him?_ Annie chuckled softly. She could see the boy rounding back to the nape of the Titan's neck, he was making his final attack, his swords raised. ''No.'' She whispered. Just as the words left her lips the giant skinless Titan exploded into an agonizingly hot cloud of steam._ Is he going to be okay? That looks pretty hot._ Annie sighed. ''It'll take more than hot air to kill Eren.''

*Twenty minutes later*

''Just follow your training! Split into groups under the Garrisons orders!'' Captain Weilman's voice echoed through the courtyard. He looked out across the yard. ''As you all know, desertion in the face of the enemy is punishable by death! So fight for humanity with your last dying breath! Dismissed!'' Panic flooded over almost every member of the 104th. Some started to cry, others to scream for their mothers. But not everyone was afraid.

''Annie, are you ready?'' Annie turned around to see Reiner and Bertolt jogging towards them.

''Yeah. I'm fine...'' She paused to look at Bertolt. Despite his tanned skin he was pale, his normally full eyes were sunken and Annie could hear his ragged breaths. ''Bertolt are you doing okay?'' The giant boy looked down at the floor, refusing to meet her eyes.

''Yeah. Just fine.'' He mumbled.

Reiner sighed and rested his hand on his dear friends shoulder. ''Come on. We're on a team with Marco, lets get this day over with.'' Both Annie and Bertolt nodded before heading over to Marco.

As they approached their freckled companion Annie noticed a lonely figure, standing in the shadows cast by the clock tower. She immediately understood who it was. Annie could never mistake those emerald eyes. ''I will be right back.'' She left before Reiner could even turn around.

''Eren. What are you doing moping in the shadows?'' Annie said as she neared the edge of the shadows.

''I...Just needed to be alone for a bit.'' He said despairingly. Annie opened her mouth to reply but never got the chance. Eren rushed forward and seized her lips with his own. Annie's arms instinctively pulled him closer, Eren happily returned the gesture. Their lips melted together just like they had done before on so many occasions. But this time. Their warm embrace was filled was sadness. Neither of them wanted to pull away but after a few minutes of lustful moans and wandering hands Eren pulled away slowly. ''Be careful out there Ann.'' His words were soft and heavy.

''Don't lecture me.'' She nuzzled his neck. ''I came fourth remember.''

Eren brushed his hand through her perfect golden hair. ''Fifth isn't too bad either.'' Eren whispered as he buried his face into her blond locks.

''True...Just remember your promise...Please.'' Annie balled her fists in the fabric of Eren's uniform.

Eren pulled back to reply when a loud voice called for him. ''Eren! Come on we're moving out!'' The members of team 34 were waiting for him.

Eren reached his hand up to Annie's cheek and brushed a lock of beautiful hair from her face. ''I promise you Annie. I won't die.'' he wasn't aware that he was lying as the words left his lips. He planted a warm kiss on her forehead before running off to join his friends. Annie stood there in the darkness, wishing more than anything that today would end quickly.

*Thirty minutes later*

A strong wind blew through Trost, carrying the stench of death of fire across the entire city. Annie winced at the smell from her perch on a church spire. From here Annie could see across most of the now burning city of Trost. The other members of squad 19 were also watching the plumes of smoke rise from burning homes. ''Squad 19! Advance!'' Marco's voice shattered the eerie silence that had fallen on them. Annie sighed, she tucked her hair behind her ears and took one last look at the latest victim of the Colossal Titan.

Annie gracefully weaved between the giants that had crawled through the breach, Titans were slow, stupid and cumbersome making them pathetically easy to avoid. Annie fired her cables into a nearby spire and with one blast of gas she launched herself high into the air, at the peak of her ascension Annie pirouetted in the air. She focused all of her attention on the neck of a ten meter Titan that was following Marco. With the flick of her wrist Annie launched her hooks into the shoulders of the monster and pulled herself in, readying her swords as she went until she was only a couple of meters from its vital spot. ''I'm sorry.'' She whispered as her blade tore through the skin. Scarlet, sticky blood erupted out of the cut but Annie didn't falter. She drove her swords deeper into the neck of the beast until she felt them connect with the bone of its spine. The Titan went limp at the lose of its pilot, collapsing to its knees before falling to the stone floor. Annie landed on the steaming corpse of the monster, crimson blood dripping from her face and hands; Annie wiped the quickly evaporating blood from her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform.

Marco's eyes were wide with awe. ''Good kill Annie.'' He stuttered. Annie leaped down from the carcass and shrugged at his comment. She craned her head up to the roof of a nearby house where Bertolt and Reiner were struggling with a twelve meter class Titan. ''We should go help. Come on.'' Marco launched himself onto the roof. Annie took one last look at the corpse she had created before going to rescue her friends.

* * *

Eren was standing on the precarious edge of Wall Rose. Team 34 was ordered to wait on top of the wall and await orders to advance. His emerald gaze was locked on every Titan that strolled past them ''Disgusting.'' Eren didn't even realise that he spoke out loud.

''Eren?'' Armin rested one of his hands on Eren's shoulder. ''Are you worried about Annie? Her squad is out there now aren't they?'' The blond was concerned for his best friend, ever since the Colossal Titan appeared earlier that day he had been acting weirdly...Well weird for Eren.

Eren shook his head and turned to face Armin. ''Sorry, what did you say?'' Armin noticed that Eren's hands were clenched to the point where if he put more pressure on his hands they might start bleeding.

''I asked if you were okay?'' Armin spoke softly. ''You seem...Off. Are you worried about Annie?''

Eren chuckled. ''Of course I am...I know she can look after herself better than anyone. But I still worry.'' Armin cast his friend a warming smile. Eren turned his gaze back across the burning city, wondering where among the Titan riddled town his lover was.

''Eren! Armin! We have been ordered to move off the walls and prepare to support the Vanguard.'' Both Eren and Armin turned to see Mina, Thomas, Mylus and Nac running towards them.

''You know what Armin?'' Eren smiled at his friend. ''This is a great opportunity.''

* * *

With a flash of golden hair and icy blue eyes another Titan fell. ''I'm sorry.'' Annie whispered to the giant corpse. _Why do you apologize to them all? _Said the voice. Annie's gaze never left the steaming body. ''Because I know what it is like to lose my mind, like them.'' She pointed to the neck of the fallen beast. ''Only difference is...I was lucky enough to escape it.'' The snake laughed. _Now look at you...One after another you cut them down. _It hissed. Annie winced at the words. ''It isn't as if I have a choice...I chose this path.'' She spat, in her head the voice chuckled softly. _Don't lie Annie. _This time Annie didn't reply, she turned to see Bertolt standing behind her.

''It isn't easy...Is it?'' He murmured as his ashen eyes lingered on the body of a six meter Titan.

''We shouldn't be talking about this.'' Annie snapped. Without waiting for a reply she fired off her cables and with one blast of gas she flew off into the distance.

''She isn't doing too well is she?'' Reiner appeared behind his tall friend with sticky blood dripping from his cloak.

Bertolt turned to his dear friend. ''Neither are we.'' He said with hazy eyes full of despair. ''But I think you're right...Annie is...Cracking.'' Bertolt sighed.

''She will be fine. I mean we all chose this path right?'' Reiner gently pushed Bertolt's shoulder.

''Yeah we did.'' The tall boy lied as he gazed off into the inferno he had created.

Annie gracefully ducked under a giant fist that was aimed at her head, she drew a fresh set of blades and with a single strike Annie tore apart the Achilles tendon of her latest foe. With a primal roar the Titan fell to its knees, pillars of steam started to rise from the gruesome wound. Using a nearby church Annie propelled herself into the air, right above it's neck. ''I'm sorry.'' But her words were lost to the sound of steel rending away flesh.

''Annie! Good job.'' Marco yelled from the roof top. ''Reiner, Bertolt, I have sent out a supply order. Could you go pick it up?'' Marco pointed to HQ. ''Me and Annie will keep the Titans focused here.''

Bertolt and Reiner exchanged a nervous glance before nodding. ''Okay. But if you get killed, I'll resurrect you and kill you again.'' Reiner scoffed.

''We won't be long so don't do anything stupid.'' Bertolt shouted to his comrades.

Marco watched them go until they were completely out of sight. ''Come on we should get to higher ground and wait for their return.'' He pointed to what looked like a large market place. Annie nodded and they made it to the roof without any trouble. ''How do you think the evacuation is going?'' He asked as he sat down against a chimney stack. Annie shrugged. ''How much longer do you think they are going to be?'' Annie shrugged. ''Not much of a talker are you?'' He joked.

''I don't play well with others.'' She deadpanned.

''I don't know about that...You seem to play well with Eren.'' He flashed her a childish grin. Annie drew her swords and shot him a venomous glare. Marco visibly shrunk. ''Sorry that was a bad joke, I was just trying to lighten the mood.'' They sat there in silence as the minutes passed on. Marco was about to suggest they go looking for Reiner and Bertolt when he noticed a black column of smoke coming from a close by park. ''That is an emergency flare!'' He stood up and ran to the edge of the roof. ''Come on! That is where squad twelve was.'' Annie nodded, she tucked her hair behind her ears and flew off towards the sounds of screams.

As they approached the source of the smoke flare Annie noticed that the clouds were changing. Instead of being a flawless white they were beginning to turn a dark and dirty grey, before long the clear blue sky had been engulfed by heavy black clouds. It didn't take long for them to find who fired the flare, the remainder of squad twelve were huddled together on a roof that was being besieged by a group of small Titans. ''This isn't good. There are a lot of Titans there.'' Annie murmured.

One of the terrified trainees tore his gaze from the heard of monster and looked directly at Annie. ''HEY! OVER HERE!'' He waved his arms in the air.

''Look.'' Marco pointed at the group. ''That's Franz. We have to help him.'' Marco started waving back. ''FRANZ! I KNOW THIS SOUNDS CRAZY...BUT I NEED YOU TO LURE THE TITANS AWAY FROM YOUR LOCATION!'' Annie gasped _Is this guy for real? He must know Franz will die of he leaves. _The voice scoffed.

''Marco. Franz will die if he goes out there.'' Annie explained.

''...No he will make it...Franz is quick and clever.'' Marco refused to meet her eye.

_Aaahh I see now. He knows he will die, he just doesn't want to believe it...Sounds familiar. _Annie winced. ''Shut up.'' She whispered.

Franz cast a sorry glance to his squad mates, he looked back to Marco. ''If you make it out of this shit hole, tell Hannah I'm sorry.''

With that he leaped off the roof ignoring the cries of his friends. ''COME ON! IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW ME I WILL STICK THIS BLADE RIGHT UP YOUR FILTHY ASS!'' Franz roared as he flew through the air with a trail of Titans behind him.

As soon as he was out of sight Marco called for the rest of his squad to get to higher ground. Once the area was clear Marco sighed heavily. ''Franz will be okay. Hannah will kill me if something were to happen to him.''

''You and I both know that Franz won't be _okay _so stop lying to yourself.'' Annie spat.

Marco rounded on her with a look of disgust on his face. ''How do you do it? How can you be so cold? We just sent our friend off to die! Do you not feel anything?'' Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes.

Rage flooded though Annie's body, she lunged forward and drove her knee into his abdomen, she grabbed a fist full of his hair and dragged him off the floor. ''First of all, you sent him to die, not me. Secondly, the moment you put on that uniform you understood that you could die. Franz knew that...that is how he could run off like that.'' Annie threw him to the floor. ''And finally. Don't you ever, EVER mistake my composure for emotionlessness again. Do I make myself clear?'' Annie stomped her foot down on his chest. Through gritted teeth Marco nodded, Annie removed her boot from his chest causing Marco coughed violently. ''What would Franz want you to do in this situation? Would he want you to sit here and cry? You are a war-soldier, now act like it.'' Without waiting for a reply Annie launched herself into the distance.

It didn't take long Marco long to wipe the tears from his eyes before he caught up to Annie, as soon as she was in ear shot Marco called out ''When we find Bertolt and Reiner, don't tell them about this.'' Annie nodded and not another word was said between them for the rest of their flight.

It took them only a few minutes to reach the rendezvous point that Marco pointed out on the map and when they arrived Bertolt and Reiner were already waiting for them, with looks of despair and anguish. ''What happened? Where are the supplies?'' Annie demanded.

Reiner massaged his eyes and sighed. ''HQ has been completely surrounded by Titans. No way in. No way out.''

''We are almost out of gas! What do we do know?'' Bertolt asked.

''Did you see any other squads on the way? If you did we should meet up with them.'' Marco said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

''We saw Jean's team and a few others on the way back.'' Bertolt glanced at Reiner who just shook his head. ''They aren't too far away we could reach them and have some gas to spare.'' Bertolt suggested.

''If I'm gonna die, I at least want to lay my eyes on that goddess Krista one last time .'' Reiner scoffed.

''Is this really the time for jokes Reiner?'' Marco sighed.

''Lets go.'' Annie spat in a frosty voice. ''We will have to fight some of them on the way to Jean by the look of it.'' Annie pointed to a large fourteen meter class Titan. She fired out her cables and was gone before Reiner had a chance to sigh. As she neared the monster Annie descended to it's knees. ''Reiner assist!'' She called out. Reiner nodded and fell in behind her. With a single slice of her blades Annie shaved the flesh of the backs of its knees away, the Titan fell to the ground in a spray of sticky blood and dust. Before it even had a chance to start healing Reiner fell from the sky and carved a large chunk of dripping flesh from the nape of its neck, with that the Titan lay still.

Marco watched on with a look of awe upon his face. ''What happened to not playing well with others?'' He mumbled as Reiner and Bertolt moved onto a ten meter Titan.

''BERTOLT! EYES!'' The tall boy nodded and swooped down out of the air, his blades pierced the hungry eyes of the monster with a stomach churning pop. As the Titan raised it's hands to smite the attacker, Bertolt released his swords and kicked off of the blood soaked face. Without it's vision Reiner easily weaved between the Titans frantic strikes, the blond ox stabbed one of his blades into the shoulder of the beast. Reiner stood on the back of the monster as it stumbled around. ''God damn it!'' He raised his free blade and with all his strength he brought it crashing down on the nape of the Titans neck.

''You guys are amazing! I feel like a burden watching you fight.'' Marco shouted as he severed the Achilles tendon of another Titan.

''Enough talk, we are almost there. Marco leave that one.'' Annie pointed to the Titan Marco disabled. ''It won't be getting up anytime soon.'' The freckled boy quickly nodded.

Annie turned to Bertolt, her eyes widened with shock as he spat up a thick wad of scarlet blood. ''Don't worry, one of them grabbed me for a bit, but I'm fine now.'' He said as he wiped the dripping liquid from his lips.

''It will take more than a little seven meter Titan to kill Bertie!'' Reiner shouted. Annie felt a smile pick at her lips as she watched her blond friend pull his giant companion into a headlock.

''Now isn't time to play. If we move quickly we can make it to Jean's location...without having to fight too many of them.'' Marco called out. With that all four members of squad nineteen leapt back into the pit of fire, ash and giants.

''I'm sorry.'' Annie whispered as her blades tore away the neck of eleven meter class, she didn't even stop to confirm her kill, she just fired out her cables and moved on to the next target. Annie was passing over an empty street when a six meter monster leaped clear off the ground, its grotesque fingers curled around her leg. Annie didn't flinch, she swung one of her blades in a wide arc. A malefic smile rose on her lips as she watched the severed digits fall to the floor with a spine tingling _squelch. _Free from her captor Annie quickly caught up to her squad.

''There! I see them!'' Marco pointed his sword to a rooftop that was littered with soldiers. Seconds later Marco, Reiner, Bertolt and Annie came crashing onto the roof. ''Jean! What is going on?'' Marco yelled as he ran to his friend.

A look of pure astonishment dawned on the mousy brown haired boys face when he saw his friend. ''Marco! I thought...Doesn't matter, the retreat bell sounded by we are almost out of gas...We are trapped here.''

As Marco and Jean tried to come up with a plan of escape, Annie franticly looked around the battered faces of the surviving members of the 104th. _Do you really think that idiot would be here? If he had any gas left he would be using it to kill Titans. Not cry like a child. _''I guess your righ-Armin!'' Annie's azure eyes widened when she saw Eren's best friend curled up into a ball against a wall. _Ooohhh...Maybe Eren isn't here for another reason. _The snake hissed. Annie wanted to run up to him and ask him where Eren was. She wanted to shake him by the shoulders until he told her. But Annie couldn't. Annie was afraid of what he might say. _You're only delaying the inevitable Annie. _The hiss she was so used to hearing had transformed into a voice...Into Eren's voice. Annie was about to scream, she was about to pass out, she was about to raise her hand to her open mouth...

''Annie...I am sorry to involve my personal feelings, but did you see Eren's team?'' She turned her head to see Mikasa running toward them, her smoky eyes filled with hope. Annie wanted to answer but the words died in her throat. Eventually Reiner saved her the trouble.

''Actually. Armin is over there.'' He pointed to the little boy.

Annie turned away as Mikasa walked towards Armin. _Eren is fine...He promised me he wouldn't die...He is alive. _She thought to herself, all the time the creature in her mind tightened its hold over her sanity.

''The members of Trainee Corps team 34...Thomas Wagner, Nac Tias, Milius Zermusky, Mina Karolina...'' Tears were streaming down Armins tears.

_No!...Please don't say it...Please don't. I'm begging you don't say it. _Is what she wanted to say but Annie's blood had turned to ice in her body.

''Eren Jeager! These five died valiantly in the line of duty!'' Armin cried out.

Inside her mind something snapped. Four words engulfed her entire being..._Eren broke his promise. _


	14. Roar

**A/N: First off. This chapter is a lot more action focused so please let me know what you think of the fighting scenes. **

**Secondly. A big thanks to Bondy007 and Takenokohime for your reviews of the last chapter, they really helped through this one. **

**Thridly. Please go and read ''The science teacher next-door'' By Inevitable wonder. It is a really sweet Levi x Hanji story. **

**Lastly. So as usual please do a big one and leave a review (Even if you hated it) And I will see you for the next chapter...ENJOY! **

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_Eren broke his promise. _These four simple words caused something to break inside of Annie. Every pair of eyes turned towards her, looking for a reaction but she wouldn't give one to them. _What are you going to do now? _The snake coiled around her mind, grinning at her anguish. Annie clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, it was taking all of her dwindling amounts of sanity to stop herself from screaming.

It took Mikasa's empty, smoky eyes to shift everyone's attention from Annie and onto the now grieving girl. As words of cowardice and strength ignited the hearts of the terrified soldiers Reiner glanced down at Annie, his golden eyes saw past the walls she spent years building up, his eyes saw right to her core. _She is cracking...all because of him. _Reiner went to rest his on her shoulder _We need her. If she goes then the mission fails. _''Don't.'' Her words were cold and empty. It was as if the weight of Armin's words had yet to fully dawn on her. Reiners hand froze in the air, _Just like her...Shutting the world out. _Before he even realised it Annie was sprinting back into the darkness with swords in hand. Bertolt went to stop her, his ashen eyes brimming with worry. Reiner caught his arm. ''Let her go. Annie can look after herself, she always has.'' Bertolt didn't want to admit it but he was right.

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_You never answered me...What will you do now? _The serpent whispered as Annie sored through the sky, she could feel her gas supply running low but that didn't bother at all compared to the crushing feeling in her chest. ''I will kill Titans, I am a soldier.'' Even Annie couldn't believe her own words. _Oh please you can't lie to me. _Annie didn't reply, instead she fired her cables into the shoulder of a thirteen meter Titan, with the click of a trigger and the flash of steel Annie tore the flesh from the monsters neck, hot sticky blood sprayed into the air and stained Annie's blades and hands. _Not going to apologize to this one then? _The creature asked. ''Have you ever heard a Titan say sorry for eating someone?'' Annie snapped as another Titan fell in a fog of steaming blood and flesh. _You said you knew what is was like to lose your mind like them. _Another monster fell. _Or are you just upset that your oh so dear lover was eaten? _Annie was about to scream into the sky when she felt her gear sputter and choke as the fumes in her cylinders emptied into the air. Annie cursed silently as she smashed into the side of a building, _I guess Eren isn't around to catch you anymore. _The snake hissed. The creatures words cut deeper than she thought they ever could, it was now dawning on her. Now she was beginning to understand that Eren wasn't coming back. ''Don't you dare say his nam-'' Her words were interrupted the sound of footsteps...giant footsteps. Annie glanced behind her and saw an eight meter Titan ambling towards her with an unnaturally wide smile on its bloodstained face. Annie instinctively raised her hand to her open mouth when a devilish smile picked at her lips. _This could be the Titan that killed Eren...I am going to kill it with my own hands. And if it isn't, then I will find the one that did. _In the far reaches of her mind the snake grinned _Finally...Things are going to get interesting._

Annie knew she was at a disadvantage but she didn't care, all Annie wanted to do was take her attention from the burning pain in her chest. As the Titan approached it started to move slightly quicker until it was only a few meters away, Annie drew her last set of blades and with a smile on her lips she waited for the creature to strike. She didn't have to wait long. The Titan lunged towards her, its mouth wide open exposing the cavernous pit that had claimed so many lives. Annie lazily ducked underneath her attacker, the Titan landed face first in the floor, kicking up a cloud of dirt. Seizing the opportunity she leaped onto the Titan's exposed back and ran up towards the neck. Before the beast had a chance to get up, Annie raised her blades high above her head and brought them crashing down on the nape of the monsters neck, the blood soaked steel easily rended away the pink flesh of the Titan's neck and with a flick of her wrist her swords whipped the muscle clean off the beasts body.

Annie hopped off the evaporating corpse and examined her dulled blades ''There goes my last set.'' She said as she tossed her spent razors to the ground. ''I need to find some more gas and blades. But HQ is miles away and surrounded by Titans.'' Just then something caught her attention, a dash of red against a street corner. It didn't take Annie very long to figure out what it was.

_Oh so this is the path you are going to walk down. _Annie tucked a lock of bloodstained hair behind her ear and made her way to the streak of scarlet. ''I am a warrior after all, if this is what I have to do to fight...then so be it.'' When she rounded the corner what Annie saw would have made most people throw up but Annie simply didn't care. Before lay the body of a member of the Garrison. Half the body of a member of the Garrison. ''At least the Titan that killed this person was kind enough to leave the bottom half.'' Annie stepped into the still expanding pool of blood to retrieve what she needed, the rich metallic smell of crimson liquid caused memories of when a large hulking wolf tore a large chunk of flesh from her leg off to burst into her mind. Annie keeled over as a wave of pain flooded over her. The memory of the wolf faded, it was replaced by the memory of the cave that she and Eren shared, by the memory of Eren carrying her through the blizzard of Rose Pass, by the memory of his strong and warming heartbeat as she pressed her head against his chest. By the memory of her first kiss. ''Eren...You promised me.'' Annie whimpered as tears were rapidly forming in the corners of her ocean blue eyes. In the farthest reaches of her memories she could hear her father lecturing her. _Don't let anyone close to you Annie. They will only hurt you. _At that point something clicked back into place, something that had been broken for a long time. ''You were right father. Eren broke his promise to me, Eren hurt me just like you warned.'' Her hand fluttered across the pink scar on her neck. ''I'm sorry father. I will never let anyone get close to me again.'' The tears in her cold, icy eyes receded and in her head she could feel the smile on the serpents face falter ever so slightly.

_Looting bodies now are we? _The creature hissed. Annie snorted ''Like I said, I am a warrior.'' Annie went about removing the gas cylinders from the drenched maneuver gear, she wretched slightly when she had to move the carcass to pull out the dripping blades. Satisfied with her new supplies Annie stood from the gore and batted the blood from her uniform. _Not going to say thank you or goodbye? _Annie briefly glanced back at the bloody remains ''No.''

Annie leaped from building to building, from Titan to Titan, from corpse to corpse. _You know ever since Eren died you have become really dull. _The sound of his name ignited something inside of Annie's frozen heart. ''Don't you dare say his name!'' She yelled as her blades felled another Titan. _Oh...Did I hit a nerve there? _To Annie's surprise she couldn't reply, for some reason the sound of his name kindled her core. As the giant body came crashing down Annie came to a stop on the side of a destroyed spire, there she disposed of her blunted blades. ''I'm going to have to find some new sword blades, those were my last pair.'' Her head rattled as the snake giggled _Great! Time to stop Titan killing and start body looting! _Annie huffed, she scanned the area for signs of more Titans. Confident that all the Titans in this area were now steaming masses of meat Annie descended to ground level.

Annie hastily ran down street after street, taking cover in houses at the slightest indication that she wasn't alone. This was her element, she was a lone wolf trained by her father to stalk her prey and eliminate them in a single deadly strike. This is what made her feel ali-. ''Mina?'' The ice in her voice melted at the sight of her fallen friend. Sat up against a stone wall was the body of Mina Karolina, her head was facing up towards the sky and her eyes were wide open, frozen with fear. ''Mina!'' Annie shouted, she leaned closer hoping that one of her only friends was still alive. Upon closer inspection Annie realised that it was pointless, her lifeless ebony black pupils had engulfed her hazy irises. Annie's fears were confirmed when she saw the blood that was steadily trickling out of the back of her head. There it was again, that fire in her heart, something about seeing Mina, silly, annoying, loud, bubbly, cheerful Mina here caused something to come loose inside of her. Annie brushed her fingers down her pale face and her empty eyes shut slowly. _You pay your respects to this body. But what about the countless others you looted? _Annie balled her fists in the dirt, ''This body has a name...Mina Karolina.'' She spat. _So did all the others you past. _The snake retorted, Annie found that yet again she could not reply, the snake was right all those bodies she passed not matter how bloody or broken they might be had names. ''I...am a warrior. I have to do this.'' Annie lied to herself as she swapped her nearly empty gas cylinders for Mina's full ones, she was shocked to by the weight of her friends gas supplies, _Guessing by how much gas is in these, I am going to say Mina didn't last long when the fighting started. _Annie gritted her teeth as she pulled out all of Mina's still sharp blades, when she was done Annie took one last glance over her shoulder at her friend. ''I'm sorry Mina.'' She whimpered as another crack appeared in her mind.

With her fresh set of supplies Annie continued to slaughter every single Titan that was unlucky enough to catch her icy blue eyes. From the top of a clock tower Annie could see most of the city of Trost, from her perch she could just make out the lip of the hole in Wall Rose, Annie could also see the infested building that was HQ, Titans were crawling all over the building desperately searching for an entrance. _You could probably save a lot of lives if you went and helped out. _The snake suggested. Annie seriously considered going back and helping her fellow soldiers, she was about to turn back when her father's words echoed in her ears. _They will only hurt you Annie. _She winced as a fog of pain descended on her, Annie rested her head against the side of the tower and waited for the storm in her head to pass. When Annie opened her eyes the noise in her mind was gone, she exhaled slowly and the pain in her eyes disappeared, replaced by a hostile and freezing ice. ''I will stay out here, I have no reason to help those people.'' She said as she lowered herself to ground level. Just as the words left her lips her newest target wandered into view. A fifteen meter tall Titan, with messy oak brown hair. And emerald green eyes.

_Annie...Look at what that Titan is doing. _Something in the snakes voice sent fingers of ice up Annie's spine. She turned her attention from tuning her gear to the fifteen meter Titan ahead of her, the ice in her eyes shattered and Annie gasped at the sight before her.

The Titan had one of its great hands stuck inside the mouth of another much smaller Titan, the seven meter monster was clawing pathetically at its attackers arm. Annie could see that the taller Titan was crushing its prey from the inside, with a shattering crack the fifteen meter tall Titan snapped the spine of its victim. The now limp monster fell to the ground, steam was bellowing out of its mouth. As it landed the victorious threw back it's head and let out a ground shaking roar.

Annie covered her ears as the beast howled into the sky. The unbridled rage in its beastly scream caused several other Titans to flood into the area, their eyes wide with revolting joy. ''What is going on!?'' Annie's words however were lost to the deafening cry. Another fifteen meter tall beast lunged at the abnormals face with razor like claws. The Titan didn't even flinch, instead it swung one of its huge arms in a wide arc, his strike caught his attacker on the cheek. The force of the impact was so great that the head of the attacking Titan was sent flying into the distance, it landed in a cloud of dust, the headless body fell to the ground before it even had a chance to start regenerating the Titan brought a foot crashing down on the back of its neck.

Annie watched with a mix of awe and fear in her eyes. _That Titan is killing other Titans._ The two remaining Titans rushed the abnormal at the same time from both the left and the right. The emerald eyed Titan swung one of its legs out in a wide arc, it connected with the chin of the monster attacking from the right, the force of the green eyed Titans strike caused his attacker to collapse into the other Titan. Seizing the chance the long haired monster reached out and crushed the nape of the fallen Titan's neck. Just as the other Titan started to pick itself up the Titan killing Titan crushed one of its feet through the monsters chest, the now immobilized creature squirmed under the crushing weight. With one hand the jade eyed beast grabbed the top of the Titans head and with one flick of it giant arm it tore its head clean from its shoulders and with that the battle was over.

_Well that was unexpected._ Annie had no idea how to react, in front of her was a Titan. That killed other Titans. She found herself entranced by this monster, her eyes were especially drawn to its large lush green eyes. _Don't you think that thing looks like- _''I said don't say his name!'' Annie shouted. The bitterness in her voice attracted the attention of the hazel haired Titan, its giant head turned to face her. Annie held her breath as she gazed into the eyes of the berserk Titan. The snake in her head was right, its eyes were a bright and vivid jade green just like his. The Titan's hair was also the exact same shade of oak brown. Annie had to fight the tears that were forming in her eyes.

The Titan continued to look at the tiny human in front of it, both Annie and the beast stared at each other as if they recognised one another. It took the growl of a hungry Titan to break her trance, Annie turned on her heels and saw a five meter Titan wandering towards her with its arms outstretched grasping at the air. Annie prepared her blades and rested her fingers on the triggers of her gear, she was about to launch herself at her opponent when the emerald eyed Titan released a thunderous roar and charged the new victim, the smaller of the Titans rushed Annie, the sudden burst of speed caught her by surprise and Annie was frozen to the spot. Only when the Titan was ten feet away did Annie react, she turned on her heels only to see the bezerk Titan bring one of its giant feet down on her attacker. The smaller monster was crushed instantly by sheer weight of the Titan, it's body collapsed in a series of revolting cracks and squelches. When the Titan lifted its foot the only remains of the smaller beast was a steaming puddle of blood and bone.

''Thank you.'' Annie whispered as the Titan stomped on the pool to make sure its opponent was well and truly dead. Her saviour paid her no attention as it crushed the crimson red pulp over and over again. Seeing her chance to escape Annie fired her cabled into a house and launched herself onto the roof. ''What is that thing?'' She murmured, once again at the sound her of voice the Titan ceased its attack and turned its fiery gaze towards her. _What are you going to do now? _The snake asked. In a moment that seemed to last forever Annie found her answer. ''I'm going to follow this thing, it is unlike any Titan I have ever seen.'' Annie could picture the wide grin on her serpents lips.

Once the attacking Titan had been reduced to bubbling splash of blood, the jade eyed beast pulled its foot out of the crater it had created and craned its head around in search of new prey. As it headed towards a ten meter tall Titan that was gorging itself on the remains of a Garrison soldier a thought burst into Annie's head. _Doesn't the way that Titan fought seem...familiar? _Annie gasped when the memories of the berserk Titan swinging its leg around in a wide arc flashed in front of her. _It had to be a coincidence. _Annie wiped the sweat that had broken out on her forehead. ''The only people in the world that know how to fight like that are me and father.'' She reassured herself, until the snake interrupted. _Are you sure about that? _When realisation dawned on her Annie almost forgot to reel in her wires. _Ere-He knew as well because I taught him. But he is... dead so that doesn't explain anything. _Annie could feel the snake sighing as she flew through the air. _You can't deny it forever. It is a possi-. ''NO!'' She yelled out. ''It is impossible.'' _Annie refused to believe what the voice was suggesting.

From that point forward the serpent was relatively silent, allowing Annie to focus on the brown haired Titan. Annie made sure to keep her distance from the beast, she had no idea if it would suddenly turn on her, but as time went on Annie started to feel more comfortable around the monster. It was a strange feeling for Annie, she felt safe around this creature but not just because that every other Titan that made its way towards her was quickly reduced to a splashes of red against the walls. But something about its great green orbs warmed her slightly. Despite the soft feeling in her chest Annie was concerned, things were going too well. Every Titan they saw charged the abnormal head on, Annie was worried that another unusual Titan might appear.

As if on cue an eight meter Titan vaulted over a school building and crashed into the side of the fifteen meter monster. The new Titan opened its mouth, revealing row after row of needle sharp teeth, with all its strength the Titan bit down on the jade eyed berserker. Even from her distant position Annie could hear the sounds of bone cracking and muscle tearing as one of the abnormal Titan's arms was torn off. With the sudden appearance of this new opponent, the brown haired Titan used its remaining limb to remove the leech that was gnawing at the steaming wound. However the eight meter tall beast detached itself from the bleeding gash and lunged at the other arm, using its razor like fingernails the Titan ripped the other arm off at the elbow. Without both arms the berserk Titan was defenceless against its attacker, the smaller monster started to tear away every piece of flesh that was in reach of its claws.

_That thing is going to die at this rate._ Annie knew that the voice was right, it would only be a matter of minutes until that Titan slashed at the neck and killed the green eyed Titan. ''Fine. I'll save it.'' Annie huffed as she unsheathed her blades. Despite the deafening roaring that echoed around her Annie managed to focus enough on her target to get into position. By using a nearby arch way she managed to propel herself high into the cloudy sky. Annie elegantly pirouetted in the air until she was over the neck of the attacking Titan. Annie fried both her hooks into the shoulders of the beast and with the flick of her wrists she launched herself towards the nape of the monster's neck. In a flash of shining steel and a blur of golden hair the Titan lay still with blood pumping out of a large and deep gash in the neck. ''I can't believe that I just saved a Titan.'' Annie sighed as she leaped back onto a house. _Did you save it because it looked a lot like...Him. _Once again Annie felt her core kindled by memories of Eren, not even her fathers poisonous words could quell the fire that was steadily growing in her heart.

As for the Titan, it didn't even wait for its arms to regrow. Instead after struggling to pick itself up the Titan craned its head towards her and through the blazing rage in its eyes Annie swore that she could see words behind its gaze, two simple words. _Thank you._ Annie watched in awe as the Titan ran off towards the crumbling remains of HQ, only once the Titan released a piercing howl did Annie move, she chased after the beast at top speed. Once she entered the clearing around the base Annie felt her heart race at the sight before her. Titans were throwing themselves at the berserker, but one after another the lush green eyed Titan crushed them into an evaporating mess. _Can nothing kill this thing? _The snake hissed as the Titan relieved one of its attackers of its head. Annie went to answer when she heard a familiar voice from a close by building.

''ANNIE! OVER HERE!'' Reiner's voice came bellowing from across the clearing, Annie craned her head towards her fellow soldiers. Reiner was standing on a rooftop with Bertolt, Armin,Jean and Mikasa, all of them had looks of shock on their faces. Annie turned back to the Titan and gasped. The Titan that had saved her life was pinned against a collapsed building, other Titans were slowly tearing him apart, Both its arms had yet to regenerate and there was a large hole in its chest revealing a series of cracked ribs. Her gaze was torn from her savior and towards her comrades when she heard Reiner call for her to join them.

''Do you know anything about that thing?'' Mikasa asked as soon as Annie had landed.

Annie took a moment to search her hazy eyes for signs of cracks, she was surprised to see that her ashen eyes were focused and solid. ''Not much, but this thing.'' Annie pointed to the Titan. ''Is stronger than any other Titan I've seen, it seems to know some form of martial arts.'' She turned her head back to the Titan. ''It saved my life.'' She whispered.

''That thing could help us. We should help it out.'' Reiner exclaimed. ''We should take out all the Titans swarming it!'' He was shouting now, Bertolt nodded slowly and gave Annie a worried look.

Annie was about to demand that Bertolt stop looking at her when Armin released a small whimper. ''Th-that is the...one that at-killed Thomas.'' He pointed a trembling finger towards a fifteen meter tall Titan with short blond hair and blood stained cheeks.

As if responding to his words the berserk Titan threw back its head and roared a roar louder than Annie had ever heard, she and the others were forced to cover their ears as the beast howled into the air. Then with a burst of explosive strength it broke free of the Titans that were gorging themselves, it half limped and half ran towards the blond Titan. The green eyed monster clamped its mouth around the neck of the Titan and with all of its supernatural power, it hurled the creature into the heard of other Titans. All the trainees watched on with jaws dropped.

''That thing doesn't need our help.'' Jean spat as he leapt off the roof.

''Wait!'' Armin called out. The battered Titan wailed in victory before collapsing to its knees and then to the floor.

''What is that thing in it's neck?'' Mikasa pointed to the thick column of steam that was bellowing from a hole in the nape of the Titan's neck.

_Remember what I said earlier? _The serpent hissed with a wide grin. ''That's impossible...'' Annie whispered. Annie felt her knees were about to buckle, everyone's eyes were wide with impossible shock. Only Mikasa was able to move, she vaulted off the roof and embraced the human body that was sticking out of the Titan. Eren's body. ''That can't be Eren…'' She growled. ''Eren is...dead.'' Her azure eyes were locked on the limp body in Mikasa's arms. _Then what is she holding? _The intrigue in the snakes voice was sickening.

''A monster.'' Annie spat.


	15. Cracks

**A/N: First off I am sorry that this is so late, I have been revising for my exams and it has been taking up all my time. Also I have decided to release chapter less often. DON'T WORRY. I will keep uploading but not as often, just until my exams are over. **

**Secondly...3000 views...3000...wow. Thank you to each and every single one of you who has read this and supported me! **

**And yes now is the time I beg you to go read another story. ''When I remember this life'' by 'Takenohime' is a really really damn good Eren x Annie story so go check it out! **

**As usual please please review and see ya next time! ENJOY! **

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''That...thing in her arms...is a filthy Titan.'' Annie spat as Mikasa dragged Eren's body onto the roof top. She didn't see the look of worry in Bertolt's ashen eyes, the tall boy went to help pick him up when Jean stopped them.

''Does this mean...'' He turned to face to the scattered corpses of the evaporating Titans. ''Eren did all this?'' Annie craned her head around to face the carcasses _I think he is right...Eren did this. _The voice whispered.

''No. A Titan did this. That _thing _in Mikasa's arms.'' She pointed to the limp body that Mikasa was holding tightly. ''Is a Titan.'' This time Reiner shot her a concerned look _what the hell is she thinking? _He said inwardly.

''We need to get him out of here!'' Bertolt called out as more Titans started pouring into the clearing. Annie however wanted to throw Eren's body off the roof, in her icy eyes he was a fake Eren. A copy. A Titan. Annie instead glared at Eren and slowly nodded.

Mikasa reluctantly handed the still unconscious body over to Reiner when they began their climb of the wall. As they flew through the air Annie glanced back at the body that was flung over Reiners shoulder. ''Eren...is dead.'' she whispered no one heard her except the serpent in her head. _Annie. You know more than anyone, that this situation is not impossible. _She knew that the hum in her head was right. Erupting out of the neck of a Titan was something that Annie was well accustomed to but the thought of Eren being like her was terrifying. When they reached the top of Wall Rose Eren started to stir from his seemingly endless slumber. Reiner slowly eased him to the floor, Mikasa took one of his hands in hers waiting for him to wake up. Annie's ocean blue gaze were locked on his shifting eyes, she wanted more than anything to turn away and forget about him, but the fire in heart had her frozen to the spot.

Eren's eyes slowly fluttered open and Annie felt her breath catch. There in front of her was Eren, her Eren. With his intoxicating, heart warming jade green eyes. The moment their gazes met Annie felt an intense wave of pain flood over her, she stumbled back and leaned on one of the many cannons that lined the walls. _Still think he is a fake? _Annie opened her mouth to reply but the words never came.

''Wh-where...am. I?'' His voice was a raspy cough. Mikasa was the first to answer by throwing her arms around his shoulders, when she pulled away the raven haired girl barraged him with explanations and questions. Eren didn't seem to be listening, his eyes were darting between all of the people surrounding him. Eventually his gaze landed on Annie who was massaging her temples. ''Annie.'' A wide smile grew on his lips, Eren tried to stand but as soon as he pushed off of Reier he fell to his knees.

''Eren, you're still really weak don't try to stand.'' Armin said as he helped his friend from the floor. Eren disregarded his words altogether, he tried to stand again this time he made it a few steps before collapsing.

''I...kept my promise...Annie.'' He coughed, Eren stayed conscious long enough to see the look of horror on Annie's face. Her azure eyes were wide and she was backing away from him slowly, confusion flashed on his face just before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Mikasa rushed towards him and pressed her head to his chest to check his heartbeat. Happy that Eren was still alive she handed him over to Reiner who gently picked him up. As Reiner carried him away Bertolt jogged over to Annie who was sat down against the cannon, he extended a hand to her. ''Annie come on.'' She shook her head and stood up.

''I'm fine, I'll catch up.'' She murmured.

''Shouldn't you be...I don't know...happy that Eren is alive.'' He questioned.

''Of...course I am.'' She lied through gritted teeth. ''It's just a lot to take in.'' While it was easy for Reiner to see through her lies, Bertolt could not break through the mighty wall Annie had built many years ago. He stared at her for a few seconds, trying to find cracks in her weary eyes. ''I'm fine.'' Annie snapped, this was what Bertolt was looking for. He had found the cracks in her seemingly indestructible walls.

''Annie, you can't lie to me.'' Bertolt stood to his full height, his great shadow enveloping the small girl. She looked up at him with such sadness in her ocean blue eyes that Bertolt felt as though his heart would melt.

Realising that Bertolt could see right through her, Annie's lips were moving before she could stop them. ''Why him? I never wanted to fall for him.'' She looked over the edge of the wall. ''Or anyone.''

''Its not something you can help.'' He took a small step towards her. ''We maybe monsters, but we still feel emotions. Hate, despair, joy. Even love.'' Another step. ''What happened to us wasn't fair.'' Bertolt was now standing right behind her.

''We are war-'' She started but the tall boy cut her off.

''Don't say it.'' Annie couldn't see the hurt in his face.

''I don't care if I love him or not, all I want to do is go home.'' She rounded on the boy behind her.

Bertolt took a step back, the venom in her voice was more potent that he had ever heard. He looked over his shoulder to make sure they were alone. ''Annie...''

Annie glared at him with fire in her eyes. ''I said I am fine!'' The fury in her voice was enough to cause Bertolt to shrink. The giant boy looked at her once again, he opened his mouth but Annie didn't give him the chance. ''No I don't want to hear it. I don't care about your feelings. The only thing I care about is going home.'' With that she left Bertolt alone on the wall with a crushing pain in his heart.

He was about to chase after and beg her to forget about her feelings for Eren when fate intervened.

* * *

A brilliant yellow bolt of lightning erupted out of the ground and shot into the clouded sky, the flash of light was immediately followed by a deafening explosion. Before Bertolt had a chance to stop her, Annie was sprinting towards the source of the column of steam that was rising into the air. ''Annie! Wait!'' He yelled but Annie didn't pay the slightest sliver of attention to his words, instead she was entirely focused on seeing what caused the explosion.

The pillar of steam was about two hundred meters ahead of her, Annie ran the entire way. She was exhausted both physically and mentally, from the demanding battle of Trost to the discovery of Eren being able to create and control a Titan body, it was a surprise that Annie hadn't passed out yet, but there was something driving her forward. Beyond the rapidly forming fractures in her heart and mind was a blazing fire that yearned for something she thought had been taken from her.

As Annie got closer to the column of smoke and steam a wave of intense heat washed over her. She was now only ten meters from the source of the explosion, from her position Annie could easily see what had caused the bolt of lightning to surge from the earth. Annie felt the breath in her body leave her when her icy azure eyes locked onto the horrifying figure beneath her. Under the cloud of burning hot steam was a Titan's body. Half a Titan's body. From what the top of Wall Rose Annie could see that the steaming mess of flesh had no skin and very little muscle and strangely the only arm that had been formed was outstretched into the air as if reaching out to grab something. _That thing...Is Eren. _Even the snake in her head was struggling to comprehend the sight fifty meters below her. Annie went to reply but all that left her was rasping gasp. Only when a large jet of boiling hot air jettisoned out from the nape of the half-formed Titan's neck did Annie find her voice.

''He can't...be like us, I don't want him to.'' While her voice was quiet, her words were dripping with anger in its purest form. Annie reluctantly craned her head away from the rapidly decomposing now pilotless carcass and towards the frantic soldiers sprinting along the wall to gain a better view of the cause of the shattering explosion, however it was the worrying sight of two Garrison soldiers loading a High Explosive shell into a waiting cannon that concerned her. A waiting cannon that was aimed at the skeleton of Eren's Titan. Aiming at Eren. _Are you going to let them kill him? _Annie was scared when she couldn't answer this simple question, part of her wanted to throw herself between Eren and the cannon shell, while another part of her wanted to be free from this whole ordeal. ''The mission comes first.'' Annie whispered to herself. _What does that have to do with them. _Annie glared at the cannon team who had nearly finished loading their shell. _Aiming that huge gun at Eren? _''We need him for the mission.'' Her words were cold and dry. As the words came from her lips, Annie started sprinting towards the great black mounted gun. When she neared her target Annie heard Captain Weilman's trembling voice echo around her.

''Aim the next shell, this time we WILL kill you!'' Even Annie could hear the fear in his voice. The cannon crew saluted their leader, signifying that the shell was ready. Annie was almost there, she unsheathed her remaining blades and closed the distance between her and the cannon in a matter of seconds.

''Who are you?!'' Called out a tall man with short, strawberry blonde hair. He raised his musket to aim at Annie's chest.

''Don't. Fire. That. Cannon.'' Annie huffed as she drew breath.

''We have our orders Trainee, now go prepare for the counter offensive.'' He sneered.

Annie raised her shining blades towards the soldier and spoke in a low growl. ''Do you actually know, who you are firing at?''

The soldier in front of her visibly shrunk, he stepped back and a bead a sweat trickled down his cheek. 'H-he is the Ti-titan boy.'' He stammered.

''Eren killed over twenty Titans with his bare hands.'' She spat, the moment his name left her lips Annie felt a wide, sly grin rise on the lips of the snakes in her head.

''Ye-yeah but-'' Annie didn't give him a chance to finish.

''He also didn't hurt a single human, in fact he saved my life. Not to mention that the Titans attacked him, they saw him as an enemy.'' She pointed the tip of one of her blades to the looming cannon. ''Eren is stronger than any pathetic gun, if you killed him now...you would have killed what is possibly humanities last hope.'' Annie's icy glare never left the trembling figure in front of her.

''But, we have our orders.'' The man replied.

''If you were ordered to die, would you?'' Annie retorted immediately. The soldier took another step back and considered Annie's words. ''Exactly, so this is what is going to happen. When they tell you to fire. You will tell them there is a malfunction with the cannon.'' He rushed forward went to argue but Annie simply rested a single sword on his shoulder.'' If they tell you to fire again, then unload that shell and put in a blank.'' Once again he went to dispute her words, the moment his lips parted Annie moved the shining metal razor up to his neck. ''Understand?'' He nodded quickly his wide eyes never leaving the blade pressed against the pink skin of his neck. ''Good.'' Annie turned her head to still rising cloud of steam and smoke, she followed the column down to its source. Thanks to a sudden gust of cool air Annie caught a gap in the seemingly impenetrable curtain of smog. There, nestled between the disintegrating bones and evaporating muscle was Eren. From her vantage point Annie could see that he was franticly arguing with Mikasa, _At least he is alive. _Said the serpent in her head, ''For now.'' Annie deadpanned.

''What do you mean, for now?'' The terrified soldier asked as he unloaded the high explosives.

''Nothing, just get that thing out and but a blank one in.'' Annie hissed. After that the soldier got on with his work without a single word, he quickly finished unloading to real shot and began loading the dud when Captain Weilman raised his arm to the firing position. Annie's ocean eyes widened with shock, she shot a murderous glare to the soldier who had also seen the gesture. He immediately went about loading the blank shell as fast as humanly possible, Annie turned her head back to the situation fifty meters below her. From the top of the Wall, Annie could see that Eren's closest friend Armin was standing in front of scores of well armed and well trained soldiers, he struck his right arm against his heart and the other behind his back. _That kid has guts. _Annie simply hummed in agreement. As the blonde boy begged that they understand the possible applications of Eren's 'power' Annie looked through the veil of steam, amidst the crumbling bones Eren was kneeling on the stone floor. _He looks exhausted. _The snake mumbled. ''I remember what it feels like.'' Annie didn't realise that these words were spoken aloud until she got a concerned look from the now finished soldier.

''Um...sure, the blank shell is loaded and ready.'' He gestured to the barrel of the gun. Annie nodded and sheathed her blades. ''Why are you doing this? Its treason.'' He questioned.

Annie rested her hands on the hilts of her swords. ''My reasons are my own, I trust you won't tell anyone about this...'' She pulled one of her blades half-way out of its sheath, the soldier recoiled quickly and nodded ''Now...follow your orders.'' Annie pointed to the Captain who had his hand locked in the firing position. _You're pretty stupid aren't you?_ The snake hissed harshly. ''What the hell are you talking about?'' She whispered, hoping the soldier wouldn't hear her. _So what happens after this guy fires a blank shot at Eren? _Annie sighed and massaged her temples, she hadn't thought past this point. She made sure that the soldier was out of earshot before answering. ''Hopefully they will take it as a hint to get out of there.'' Annie shrugged, her gaze never leaving Captain Weilman's hand. She waited with bated breath, waiting for the moment he lowered his arm. Annie felt her heart rise into her throat as the seconds ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace.

After what felt like hours he made his move, Annie's breath hitched and she scrunched her eyes closed as she waited for the imminent explosion from the cannon...but it never came, Annie slowly fluttered her eyes open and immediately turned her gaze to the captain. Someone had caught his signal mid-air, at first Annie didn't recognize the man who had saved Eren's life, but as her icy eyes adjusted to the distance she felt her breath catch. Dot Pixis, the man burdened with the weight of the southern territories. _That was lucky. _Annie sighed in agreement and watched as Commander Pixis escorted Eren, Armin and Mikasa to the lift that would bring them to the top of the wall.

_Well...Now is your chance. You could grab him and be over the Wall before anyone could understand what was happening. _The snake suggested from its pit. Annie sat down and rested her head against the wooden base of the cannon. ''No way, there are way too many of them...Anyway, maybe Eren doesn't have what we need. Maybe we could leave him here.'' Annie sighed as she watched Eren walk along the wall with Commander Pixis, the boy seemed perplexed by the infamously eccentric guardian of the Walls. ''There is still ti-'' Annie never had the chance to finish her words, Eren's viridescent eyes were locked on her. She picked herself up and turned quickly on her heels and made off in the opposite direction, Annie made it only ten meters when she felt her heart stop in her chest.

''Annie!'' Despite his wrecked body Eren was sprinting towards Annie with all his dwindling strength. The entrancing sound of her name coming from Eren's chapped lips was almost enough to shatter Annie's frozen heart into a thousand irreparable pieces. She stopped walking away and clenched her fists, inside her head a storm of screaming voices were threatening to tear her apart. _HE WILL HURT YOU ANNIE! _One would yell. _EREN IS DEAD. THIS IS A FAKE. _Another would howl. _THE MISSION COMES FIRST! _Annie winced in pain. _LOOK AT HIS EYE! THEY ARE REAL! _Shouted another. _WE ALL KNOW HE COULD BE REAL! _It would be enough to drive a normal person over the edge into crippling madness, but as she teetered on the precipice of insanity Annie remembered something Reiner taught her when they first destroyed Wall Maria.

''I am...a warrior.'' With these four words the raging the tempest in her mind went silent, all that was left was a lone snake without anywhere to hide, unlike before Annie could almost picture its entire body, coiled up against the corners of her conscience, emerald and hazelnut scales covered its entire length. The only part that remained in the shadows was its head and from it's flickering tongue came a chilling hiss.

''Annie?'' Eren was standing right behind her, his lush eye filled with hope along with salty tears.

''Go. Away.'' Eren stepped back in horror, in his three years of knowing Annie he had never heard her words thick with such fury.

''Ann. Its me, Eren.'' His voice was so soft and gentle, as if her were whispering into her ear. Annie felt the shadow around the snakes head envelop slightly more of its body. Eren went to rest a hand on her shoulder but the instant she felt his hand on her body Annie batted it away, when she did this she made sure not to look at him, especially his eyes. ''What is wrong with you? I thought you would be, I don't know. Happy to see me alive.'' Eren's jade green orbs searched desperately for contact with Annie's cerulean blue irises.

''You're not. Real. You are just a Titan. Like them.'' Annie pointed to the crumbling city of Trost, she was surprised by how easy it was to speak the words that were causing immeasurable pain in Eren's chest.

''No! I am human. Please Anine not you too.'' Eren felt his knees buckle beneath him. ''I am a human Annie.'' A small sliver of her was glad she couldn't see the shining tears forming in Eren's eyes.

''I have seen what you truly are.'' The icy knives in her words were cutting a deep gash across Eren's heart. ''You are a Titan, disguised as a human.'' Eren flinched at the mention of the word 'Titan'.

''No.'' Eren growled, he slowly stood up from the stone floor and faced Annie who refused to meet his gaze. ''I have proved myself a human...especially to you.'' If she had made eye contact with him Annie would have been startled by the inferno that was blazing in his eyes. But the ice in her heart was enough to quell even the blaze in Eren's blood.

''You tricked me into...lo-being with you.'' Annie spat, her gaze firmly locked on the floor.

''Ann you know me better than anyone. I couldn't be a Titan.'' Eren pleaded. ''That night in the cave.'' He paused to see her reaction...Nothing. ''I told you that I wanted to be with you. Do you really think that was a lie?''

''Yes. I do, you tricked me and I fell for it.'' Annie turned away from him. ''You are a filthy Titan. Just like the ones that killed, Mina and Fraz.'' She paused to prepare the next blade that would pierce his heart.

''NO! I am a HUMAN!'' Eren yelled, drawing the attention of the nearby soldiers.

''Just like the one...that ate your mother.'' While her voice was empty and quiet, to Eren it felt like a gaping hole had been violently torn open in his chest. In the blink of an eye, Eren lunged forward screaming in unbridled rage. Annie spun around and swung her leg out to Eren's, she had expected him to fall to his knees moaning in pain but Eren was acting like a crazed animal. Using all his strength he kicked Annie's leg out of the way and closed his hands around her throat.

''I. Am. Not. A. Titan.'' He spat as he lifted her off the ground, it took only a moment for Annie to find a weakness in Eren's attack. Annie drove one her knees into Eren's chest, he barked in pain and released his grip. Annie didn't waste a single second, she quickly stood and took a single step back. Eren focused his red, teary eyes on Annie and gasped. He saw only a blur of golden hair when Annie's left leg crashed into the side of his head.

Eren fell to the floor, blood pumping from his broken nose, he started to push himself up from the floor when Annie sent him into the dust. Her foot connected with his head and a dull roar of pain came from the downed boy. ''Don't ever come near me again.'' Eren doubled over when she drove her foot into his stomach. ''You are a filthy Titan.'' With one last strike to his head Annie left, as she walked away from the bleeding mess of Eren she found herself fighting tears that were quickly rising in her eyes.

''I...Remember...You saved me...Out there.'' Eren coughed. ''And I saved you...Would a Titan save a person?'' Annie replied by walking away, she made it a few steps when she found the words in her throat.

''My father warned me that people like you would only hurt me...He was right'' Those were her last words to Eren as she made her away from his broken body.

''I wouldn't.'' Eren spat as he wiped the blood from his nose. ''I am a huma-'' Eren stopped talking as he watched the steam pour out of his broken bone.

* * *

Once Annie made sure that she was alone, she sat down against a set of supply crates and rested her head in her hands. ''Now what?'' Annie sighed. _Was that a wise idea? _The snake had coiled its body up to make it as small as possible. ''In my eyes, Eren is dead.'' A sharp hiss caused her to wince. _He looked pretty alive to me...and you just broke his nose. _Annie huffed and rubbed her eyes. _What if he has what we need? _Annie gritted her teeth, although she didn't want to believe it. It was very almost certain that Eren had what she and the others needed. ''He doesn't have it, so we don't need him.'' Despite the shrinking shadows in her mind the serpent chuckled dryly and another crack appeared in her head.

_You can't lie to me Annie._

* * *

**P.S: Little extra thing: I did originally plan to have Bertolt kiss Annie when they were on the wall but I didn't think it suited his character. If you would be so kind as to tell me via review or PM What you would like me to do with Bertolt's feelings for Annie I would be a very happy person. **


	16. Night before the act

**A/N: First of all I want to say sorry for the late upload this chapter has take me AGES to write. I hope it was worth the wait. **

**I added a new 'snake' in this chapter so I would like to know what you think of that so please leave a review or PM me with any suggestions for future chapters. **

**Now...I would very much like it if you went and read a wonderful story called ''An experiment without boundaries'' It is a rather good Levi x Hanji story but I warn you it does contain some sexy times and stuff. **

**See you guys next time for the next chapter and ENJOY! **

* * *

"You want me to do what, sir?" Annie questioned in disbelief.

Evening sunlight illuminated the office with an eerie orange glow. Nile Dok chief of the Military Police sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Look. its been days now since the hole was plugged by that... thing." He reached for a glass and a tall bottle of dark brown liquid. "People are starting to worry about his abilities. I've been ordered to get as much information out of him as possible."

"What does this have to do with me, sir?" Annie bit her tongue as to quell the anger deep inside of her.

"I am aware that during training you had a... close relationship with Jaeger." Nile raised the glass to his lips and took a long sip. "So it makes sense that _you _are to get the information we need."

Annie clenched her fists. "I don't believe that is a good idea." Nile raised an eyebrow at her. "Sir." She quickly added.

"And why not?" He questioned, the frustration in his voice was enough to make Annie want to scream.

"I am no longer...with him." She spat out the foul tasting words.

"I would counsel you about relationships but to be honest, I don't care." Nile rested his glass on his office desk. "I have my orders and so do you." He added with more authority. "We begin questioning as soon as he wakes up, so I want you on standby until then." Annie saluted her commander and left his office without saying a single word.

In the back of her head the snake had built a small castle of shadows; a harsh laugh echoed around her mind the moment Annie left Nile's office. _Oh the irony is sweet!_ Annie struck her still balled fist against the side of her head. "Shut up! I'm not going to do it." She hissed as she walked by two members of the Military Police. _You don't really have a choice. Orders are orders. _The snake reminded her. "I don't care, they can get someone else to do it." Annie said dryly as she flew open the door to her quarters. Annie had only been a full member of the Military Police for a week but a small part of her was already missing the action and physical exhaustion that came with the brutal regime lead by Shardis. Annie sulked towards her bed and threw off her tough leather boots as soon as she sat down on the surprisingly soft mattress. "I can't believe I'm being taken off active duty to wait for the Titan to wake up." Annie huffed as rested her head against her single pillow, she was about to fall into a dreamless and dark sleep when a cackling voice came from the other side of her door.

"Oi! Annie - you have visitors." Annie growled into the fabric of her intoxicatingly warm bed. She reluctantly peeled herself from her bed sheets and slowly made her way to her door. Annie threw the door open and glared at her roommate Hitch. The mouse haired girl recoiled at the furious face that stood in the doorway. "I don't know how you do it," she paused to step back, "but somehow you manage to look even scarier every time I see you." Annie's burning glare never faltered - it didn't take long for Hitch to crack under her infamous eyes. "Okay, okay; they're in the dining room. But Annie," She took the risk and leaned in a little bit. "If you're with the Titan boy or whatever. Can I have a go at the really tall one?" Hitch scoffed. Once again Annie remained unmoved however the comment about Eren was enough to make her blood boil. She nodded stiffly at her comrade and left out of the doorway towards the dining quarters.

_Who would want to visit you of all people? _The snake asked as it shifted in the shadows. "She mentioned a 'tall one' so it's probably Bertolt."Annie glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was alone. _Why would he be here? _Annie sighed as she approached the large wooden door. "I don't know and I don't care. I'm exhausted." As she slowly opened the door Annie swore she heard the snake chuckle dryly.

Inside the hall Annie's cobalt eye quickly homes in on Bertolt who was sitting at a table with Reiner, Armin, Mikasa and Jean. He extended his arm and beckoned for her to join them. Annie sighed once again and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. The moment Annie sat down on the bench Mikasa began bombarding her with questions over Eren's health and condition. Every time the crimson scarfed girl mentioned his name (which was a lot) Annie balled her fists into the fabric of her uniform a little bit harder.

"I don't know how he is. I haven't even seen him yet, so there is no point asking me about him." Annie snapped. Mikasa's hazy eyes narrowed and her relentless questioning ended.

Deciding that Annie and Mikasa having a fight in the middle of the capital was a bad idea, Armin tried to change the topic. "So… Annie, what is the MP like?" Annie didn't even face him, she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Just as corrupt as I thought." She deadpanned, Annie went to reach for a cup of water when a thought dawned on her. "Why are you guys even here?" She questioned as she filled her cup. Jean huffed and spoke in a raised voice.

"We are here for interrogation!" He raised his voice so that their 'escorts' could hear them. "Over what happened in Trost." This time his words were dulled and his voice was weak. Annie knew full well why. Memories of piling corpse after corpse after corpse onto the pyre flashed in front of her. It wasn't the sight though that hurt the most; the smell is what haunted her.

*Flashback*

"I'm sorry..." Annie whispered as another bloody body was added to the cart. "I'm sorry." Another corpse added to the pile.

"Don't bother Annie." Reiner spat icly as he peeled a young girls body from the scarlet stained floor. "Just mourn their passing and move on." The blonde ox tore his gaze from the ever growing mound of blood and flesh to look at Bertolt, the tall boy seemed detached from his body staring at a large splash of crimson blood against the side of a small market stall. "Bertolt." Reiner called out. Hearing the deep concern in his friend's voice Bertolt snapped out of his trance and turned to face them.

"This is all going to be worth it. Right?" The tall boy voice was a trembling rasp.

"Yeah...Soon we will be able to go home." Reiner wasn't entirely sure if he was lying or not.

Annie remained silent as she dug through mounds of rotting flesh in search of any form of identification. It would be enough to make a normal person vomit and pass out but to Annie the sight of hundreds dead was something she was unfortunately accustomed to. As the trio moved from gory street to gory street Annie could feel chips appear in her mind with each body that she threw onto the cart. _I'm sorry _She silently whispered to the mangled corpse of a young male Garrison member. Annie rounded the corner onto the next stomach churning scene when Annie felt her breath catch. Staring at her with void eyes was the disfigured corpse of Hannah Diamant.

Her lifeless jade green eyes were gazing up towards Annie, they were wide with what she imagined to be pure terror. Her theory was confirmed when her eyes scanned the rest of Hannah's body. Her mouth was contorted in an eternal scream of horror and agony and Annie could see what caused this pain. The bottom half of her body was twisted at unnatural and undoubtedly painful angles, her legs looked like that had been snapped at the knee as if they were toothpicks. It took Annie only minutes to figure out what had happened but that didn't stop the snake giggling away like a child. _How ironic. _"Shut up." Annie hissed but the serpent paid no attention to her order. _Franz stupidly threw his life away...so this girl could live. _Annie winced at every word. _You couldn't save this one either Ann. _The snake hummed as Reiner came around the corner.

"Oh shit...is that Hannah?" He gawked. Bertolt came around dragging the cart behind him, his hazy eyes were glazed over as if he was trying his hardest to deny all that lay before him.

"Get her on the cart and lets go..." Bertolt's voice was flat and toneless as if spoken by a robot. Annie shuddered at the stomach churning sound that Hannah's limp, lifeless body made when Reiner scooped up her mangled frame.

"Franz...died so that she could live." Annie said as Reiner threw her corpse onto the ever growing pile of rot.

"That doesn't matter now." Bertolt said as his empty eyes stared at the gory remains of Hannah.

"Bertolt is right," Reiner groaned as he rounded the next corner. "Lets go."

The exhausted trio spent the rest of the day making trips to and from the rotting streets of Trost to the terrifyingly large wooden pyres that had been constructed. As the sun descended it turned the evening sky from a pale and empty blue into an explosion of apricot oranges and ruby reds. Annie, Bertolt and Reiner were making their way out of the smoking city of Trost for the last time. For that day.

"I'm exhausted." Reiner huffed as he pulled his canteen of water from his leather belt.

Bertolt rested the heart crushingly heavy cart against the other wagons that were sacked just as high, if not higher. "We aren't done yet." The tall boy groaned as he let his weary and bruised muscles relax. Reiner sighed and massaged his golden eyes that had seen indescribable horrors.

"Come on...Let's get this over with." Reiner said as he rested a hand on Bertolt's shoulder. Annie knew what he was talking about. Now the day was over it was time to 'dispose' of the bodies that had collected from the ruined town.

With the wooden pyres constructed the surviving members of the 104th unloaded the gruesome carts and piled them high on the oaken constructs. With the corpses tightly packed against each other the wood was set ablaze...That is what Annie remembered from Trost. Not the sight of fires raging across the wrecked homes. Not the sound of seemingly cannon fire. The thing that stayed with her most was the smell of roasting flesh as flames licked across the rotting skin of her comrades...It reminded her of the smell of piloting her Titan body.

*End Flashback*

"Annie...Annie!" Bertolt tapped her shoulder gently, she awoke from her trance and her eyes immediately focused on the tall boy.

"What?" She deadpanned.

"You sort of zoned out for a bit," Bertolt quickly took away his hand that was still on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Annie stared at Bertolt for a few moments before answering. "Yeah. I'm okay." With that, Annie excused herself from the table and left the dining room. Reiner's eyes followed her out of the hall and when he was sure Annie was out of earshot, he leaned in to Bertolt and whispered in his ear.

"Go see if she really is okay." He explained.

Bertolt shook his head. "I'm sure she's fine. Probably tired."

Reiner sighed and pointed to the door which Annie had left our of. "She is still suffering from Trost and," He paused to make sure Mikasa couldn't hear him. "Annie is still...I don't know...upset about Eren. She is certainly _not_ okay."

Bertolt pondered his friends words before nodding slowly. He too excused himself from the table and jogged after Annie. As he closed the door behind him, Mikasa's sharp and hazy eyes narrowed.

Outside the glowing sun had began to set beneath the horizon of Wall Sina. This was possibly Annie's favorite part of being stationed in Stohess. The clock spire of the Military Police station allowed someone who was adept at climbing to reach the very top of the great clock tower. Watching the giant orb of light and warmth disappear below the unbroken edge of the Great Wall had an ironically calming effect on the icy eyed girl.

It had taken mere days for Annie to figure out a 'safe' route up to her destination. She had nearly fallen from the 20 meter tower several times on her seemingly perilous ascent. However, the rewards for making the climb were well worth it in Annie's eyes. From her perch she could see over most of the bustling city. And the best bit...no one could follow her up here. It meant that Annie could finally be alone with her thoughts.

_What are you going to do when Eren wakes up? _The snake asked as it slithered out of its pit. "I don't know," Annie looked around her to make sure she was well and truly alone. "We need him for the mission but..." Her voice trailed off. _You don't want to face him after what happened in Trost. _Annie hummed in agreement and rested her head against the large wooden of the clock tower. After several minutes the snake spoke up again. _You know the mission comes first._ She knew that the voice was right, if she wanted to go home then she must cast aside her unnecessary feelings...but something inside of her was cold.

As if the warmth in her body had just disappeared, a tiny part of her knew what had caused this chill but the overwhelming majority of her mind refused to believe it. But no matter how much she fought this feeling, Annie still craved the fire she once had inside of her. She still desired the warmth of another human being. "Damn him for making me like...this." Annie hissed into the rapidly darkening sky.

"Like what?" At the sound of another voice Annie bolted around to see the source of the intruder.

Staring at her with wide eyes and warm eyes was Bertolt. He wore a gentle smile on his lips as he climbed up onto the ledge where Annie was sitting. It took her a few moments to quell the anger rising in her throat, when she spoke it was a cold and frustrated sigh. "What are you doing up here?"

"I came looking for you." Unlike her icy sharp tone Bertolt was speaking in a soft and warm voice, Annie was taken back by his friendly tone.

"Why?" Annie narrowed her sharp and icy eyes. "If you ask me about...him I will throw you off this tower." She hissed.

"I'm not here to talk about Er-him." Bertolt raised his hands in defence. "I'm just here to talk." He quickly added.

"About what?" Annie leant back, relaxing slightly in his presence.

"Well firstly I would like to ask if I could join you?" The tall boy pointed to an empty spot next to Annie. She simply shrugged and made room for his giant frame. Bertolt hauled himself up onto the ledge and eased himself down next to Annie. "Do you come up here often?" It was a desperate attempt to strike up a conversation.

"Sometimes," Annie shrugged again. "I like the privacy." She added. Bertolt sighed he could tell by the boredom in her voice that he wasn't welcome here. The tall boy arched his back as he prepared to stand but as he did Annie felt cold. It wasn't a normal chill either, as Bertolt stood to leave she could feel a stinging ice envelope her body from the inside. It was as if Bertolt was emitting a strange aura of warmth; Annie had felt this sensation before but this time...This time it didn't feel quite right. But nevertheless Annie craved this incomplete heat like a king craves his kingdom.

_Do you feel this Annie? _This voice was different...This wasn't the snake Annie was use to. The snake that had lived inside of Annie's mind was a manifestation of her grief; this new creature was something completely different. A being forged from the heat of Eren's lush green eyes and soft, hot lips. This echoing voice belonged to another emotion. Desire. The tendrils of this new creature spread throughout her entire body, latching onto her every fiber. They constricted her until Annie could feel the pain in her head. Through the fog of want and lust Annie could see only one way to clear the smog in her mind.

As Bertolt stood Annie's hand shot out and clamped around the hem of his shirt. "Annie?" She replied by pulling him back down using all her strength, his hazy eyes widened with disbelief as Annie smashed her lips against Bertolt's. Annie's lips were hot against Bertolt's skin, as she pried his mouth open Annie dragged her nails down the length of Bertolt's back eliciting a deep moan from the boy, the moment he felt Annie begin to lift his shirt over his head Bertolt pulled away with beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.

"A-Annie what are you doing?" Bertolt's voice was a trembling mess, his hands rested on Annie's shoulders to stop them from shaking.

At the sound of her name the creature in her mind released her body and the sudden fire in her chest disappeared, replaced by the familiar and unwelcome cold. "I-I..." Annie started by the words wouldn't formulate in her throat so all that came out was a rasping sigh, Bertolt shifted his hands slightly, causing his fingers to ghost over the thin, nerve rich skin of her neck. At his touch Annie hissed and recoiled away from him. "Don't touch me!" She spat, Annie batted his hands away from him and glared at him with all the ice in her heart.

Bertolt stepped back at her sudden attack and almost slipped from the ledge. "What is wrong with you?" Reiner was right, Annie was slipping, since Eren's transformation numerous cracks had appeared within the deep recesses of her mind and this was all the proof that Bertolt needed.

"I...I just needed to..." Annie stepped back and rested her head against the wooden base of the giant clock.

"Annie...what are we?" As Bertolt spoke these powerful words Annie felt a calming wave pass over her, the sound of these words caused the wrestling snakes the cease their struggles.

"I am a...warrior." Annie lied through gritted teeth, she was finally starting to realise the weakness in this foul statement but she couldn't argue with the effect is had on her snakes. "I don't want...you tell anyone this," Annie refused to meet Bertolt's eye. "Especially Reiner. Do you understand?" She added.

"Yeah, I get it." Bertolt said with sadness in his voice, he rubbed the back of his neck. "I um...better get going." Annie turned to watch him descend the tower top, she noticed that upon his tanned cheeks was a bright coral blush, the sight of which made Annie's frozen heart sink in her chest.

Once Bertolt was out of sight and earshot Annie sat back down and massaged her temples, unaware to the azure eyed girl someone had been watching her entire facade. Someone with raven black hair. Someone with a crimson red scarf. Someone with smoky grey eyes. Someone with a malefic and wicked smile. Mikasa had seen the entire thing, she had watched on with fire in her eyes. "I knew she didn't care for him." Mikasa hissed into the evening sky.

* * *

As the sun vanished behind the horizon and the bright ghostly moon rose into the star filled sky Annie gazed up through her window, she counted the stars, each and every last one of the white spots that littered the darkness. _Do you know why you did what you did? _Grief slithered of its pit. "No...I just needed something to show me..." She started. _Show you what? _At this point the other creature in her mind appeared. _To show her she is still human of course._ At the sound of Desire's sharp voice Annie winced. "Yeah...that." With that Annie turned away from the window and buried her face into her soft pillow, she refused to give Hitc the pleasure of seeing her so fractured. That night Annie's sleep was filled with the horrible sounds of Grief and Desire squabbling and fighting for possession of Annie's mind and body. However in the deepest reaches of her sanity lay an egg. An egg of madness and insanity. An egg soon to hatch.

Far beneath her, far beneath the city, far beneath the surface of the earth, Eren Jeager stirred in his seemingly endless slumber.

In his vast and deep sleep Eren dreamt of Titans, he was watching his Titan body from outside. His fifteen meter tall frame was covered in hot sticky blood. At the base of its great foot stood a single human. A single azure eyed girl. Eren wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and take Annie in his arms but as he stepped forward something reached out from the ground and clamped down on his leg. Eren turned to see what had stopped him and was horrified by what he saw. The mangled bodies of Mina, Thomas and everyone else who had died fighting in Trost were clawing at his body and tearing his flesh. Eren reached out to Annie and called out her name but as he did. As he did Eren's Titan knelt down with a raging fire in its giant eye, it opened one its great hands and picked up Annie's tiny body as if it were a toy. Despite Eren's desperate and terrified cried his Titan didn't seem to notice, it raised her up to it open and waiting mouth. With one last frantic scream Annie craned her head around to look at him, upon her face she wore a look of sheer disgust. Her sickened eyes never left Eren, even as the rouge Titan crushed her entire body in one bone shattering crunch.

Eren's eyes shot open and darkness flooded his vision. "Wh-where am I?" His voice was dry and weak.

"The boy is awake. Go tell Commander Dok." The voice sounded as though it was a whisper from a mile away when in reality it was only a few meters from the drowsy boy.

"Yes sir!" Called another voice, it was quickly followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

"Where...I am?" This time Eren's voice was slightly stronger and his eyes could just about focus on one of the figures in front of him. Eren went to raise a hand to the ask for assistance when he felt a strange weight pull on his wrists, he turned his head and gasped. Around his wrists were heavy metal shackles that were chained to the walls that surrounded him. "What's going on?" Eren demanded, there was no reply from the soldiers beyond the thick steel bars of his cage. As the minutes of silence passed the fragments of Eren's memories started to return to him. The memories of plucking his dear friend Armin from the mouth of a bearded Titan, the memories of slaughtering Titan after Titan. The memories of Annie beating him to a pulp and leaving him upon the top of Wall Rose.

"Where. Is. Annie?" Little did Eren know he would be seeing her the next day.


	17. Debriefing a Titan

HELLO! Right I have a lot to say so if you are not interested please feel free to skip straight to the chapter but what I have to say concerns the future of this story.

Firstly one of the reasons for the update delay is that I have spent many many days planning where this story is going. I have planned to end this story at around chapter 40! It is going to be a long and joyful ride. I also plan to go off cannon, up until this point I have tried to stay close to the cannon as possible but I want to branch out and focus on my personal ideas (Which I think are pretty cool)

Also I am nearing the end of my exams so I SHOULD have more time to write for you guys because I love doing this. I plan to finish this story by the end of the year then I will take suggestions for any new stories.

So to sum it all up...I have planned every last detail of this story and I look forward to writing it. Oh and I know I have already said this but...PLEASE GO READ ' An Unbearable sight' by Ponderess, I just went back and re-read it all and OMG I love it so much.

So please please review this chapter and PM me with any suggestions or questions and ENJOY chapter 17!

* * *

Annie was dreaming. She was dreaming of home. She was dreaming of her father. _I want you to do something for me. _In her slumber, Annie pictured her father kneeling down with his shaking hands resting on her shoulders; there were shiny tears rolling down his grizzled cheeks. _Please return! _These words however were not spoken in the voice she knew, instead it was Eren's cold voice that spoke these haunting words. At the sound of his sharp and echoing voice Annie's icy eyes shot open and blinding morning light flooded her vision.

"Oi, Annie, wake up!" At the sound of her name Annie sat up from her bed and rubbed the sleep from her heavy eyes. Hitch cackled like a witch at the sight of Annie 'the infamous ice queen' yawning loudly. "Come on. It's time for breakfast." The mouse haired girl added as she tied the laces of her thick leather boots and Annie hummed in agreement, she took her time getting out of bed. Taking the hint Hitch sighed and strolled towards the door. "Fine, fine I'll get out." With that Annie was left alone in the room. Well...Almost alone.

_Are you going to see Bertolt today?_ Out of the darkness came a stinging hiss. A hiss belonging to a disgusting creature Annie called Desire. "Shut up." Annie snapped as she tied her golden hair back in her usual messy bun. _You never answered my question. _Desire hummed. "I'm not seeing him today!" Barked Annie. _Oh but you want to...I know what you want more than anyone. _

Annie grimaced at the sound of these foul words: she hated to admit it, but somewhere deep down hidden behind her many many walls was a snake. A snake that craved the sensation of another human body pressed against hers. "I said shut up." Annie snapped with a sharper tone, as if on cue another creature emerged from the blackness. _Oh Annie there is no point in denying who you are. _With the arrival of the other snake Annie's mind was quickly becoming a battlefield of crushing Grief and engulfing Desire. Fearing for her sanity, Annie closed her eyes and whispered four words.

"I am a warrior." Almost at once Desire and Grief ceased their struggles and vanished into the shadows, leaving Annie in a brief but blissful silence. Making the most of the temporary ceasefire, Annie massaged her temples to release the strain that had built up over the past few hours. Part of her was actually thankful that Eren was sleeping. It gave her plenty of time to do as she wanted. Deciding today she would practise her fighting, Annie made her way out of her room and towards the mess hall with the faint sound of hissing in the far reaches of her mind.

When Annie threw the mess hall open, all the heads turned to face her. Some of them wore sly and gleeful smiles that spread from ear to ear. In the far corner of her eye Annie caught glimpse of Mikasa, Jean, Armin and Reiner sitting at a table near the back of the hall. However Bertolt wasn't with them. _That's odd. That tall boy is usually attached to Reiner at the hip._ Hissed Grief. "Shut up." Annie snapped quietly before making her way over to her comrades.

As she passed the tables that lined the room Annie could feel every pair of eyes digging into the back of her head. She wanted to give them her most icy glare; however, one of the remaining parts of her that wasn't fractured told her to hold her tongue. Annie clenched her fists as she brushed off the many gleeful gazes. _Why are they looking at you like that?_ Asked Desire. Annie went to hush the snake when she was interrupted. _I think that is your fault._ Hissed Grief. "Shut up both of you." Annie snapped, earning her two confused looks as she walked by a boy with bowl cut onyx hair called Marllow and Hitch.

As Annie neared her table she could hear faint whispers. She went to hush the squabbling snakes when Annie realised that the noises were coming from around her.

"Did you hear?" Said someone in a hushed voice.

"I thought she was with the Titan boy?" Asked another. It was slowing coming together in her head.

"But you have to admit...That tall boy is pretty cute." Annie looked to Reiner and saw disappointment brimming from his eyes. _Somehow they found out. _Murmured Gief.

"But how?" Annie asked as she stepped closer and closer to Reiner who would undoubtedly want to lecture her about their mission. _Maybe Bertolt told everyone. _Annie wasn't sure which snake said that but it seemed like the only explanation. At this realisation Annie's eyes narrowed and she balled her fists.

"Hey Annie! Over here." Jean gestured to her and Annie noted the sly and giddy look in his hazel eyes.

"What do you want?" Annie asked in an icy voice once she reached the table.

For a while no one answered. Armin's face was buried beneath pages and pages of tomes and articles on Titan behaviour patterns, Reiner refused to meet her eye, Jean was grinning as if it were Christmas. And Mikasa. Annie didn't have to look at the raven haired girl to know her smoky eyes were frantically looking for eye contact with her.

"Annie..." Jean chuckled. "Have you seen Bertolt today?" The brown haired boy had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from bursting into uncontrollable laughter. At this point it seemed the entire table was waiting with baited breath, even Armin had arisen from his mountain of paper to properly hear her reply. They wanted a reaction from her. Annie wouldn't give them what they wanted.

"No I haven't." She deadpanned. While many people on the table and the entire hall this was a disappointing reaction, one didn't. One person was still furious and she couldn't take it any longer.

"Well how about last night?" Mikasa said with a startlingly sharp glare.

Annie was forced to ball her fists in her pockets, she could picture the wicked smile on both Grief and Desire's faces. "I don't know what you are talking about." Annie rarely lost her temper at anyone but if one person could make her snap, it was Mikasa Ackerman.

"We all know you are a bad liar." She paused to prepare her next verbal knife. "Anyway...I saw you on the church spire." Mikasa didn't even wait for her words to sink in before attacking again. "I knew you didn't care about Eren, I just needed the proof and well...you gave me that when you kissed Bertolt." At these words both Annie and Reiner flinched slightly. "I will tell Eren when he wakes up." Mikasa added before pulling away to see the effect her words had on Annie.

"When? Don't you mean if?" It was a foul tactic but she didn't mind, the growing look of fear on Mikasa's face was worth it.

"What do you mean 'if'? Mikasa hissed.

"Yeah what do you mean Annie?" Armin had closed the last of his many books and his fragile eyes were trained on her.

"Well I have just heard...rumors," Annie stopped the admire the confusion and worry in Mikasa's usually sturdy and unbreakable expression. "That the higher ups want to cut him open and see what makes him tick. And well...so do I." These last words confused the snakes in her head because as the words left her lips they could sense a slight pain behind them. They didn't know if Annie was lying and neither did she.

The colour in both Mikasa and Armin's faces disappeared almost immediately. Mikasa seemed too stunned to formulate a single word; Armin, however, was on his feet and hurling question after question at Annie.

"Why would they do that? He sealed the hole in Wall Rose! Eren is a valuable asset." He shouted, causing the heads of everyone in the room to turn the small blonde boy.

"Look its not my call. I'm just following my orders." Annie was becoming frustrated by Armin's sudden outburst as it was drawing even more unwanted attention to her. Annie was about to open her mouth to silence the boy when the dining hall door flew open and the commander of the Military Police, Nile Dok, walked briskly through the door. All at once everyone in the hall stood from their seats and saluted the commanding cheif.

"At ease." The soldiers lowered their arms to their sides in a single fluid motion. "Annie Leonhart." He barked.

At the call of her name Annie stepped forward and saluted. "Yes, sir."

"You're coming with rest of you back to your positions." The hall erupted with sound of saluting soldiers, among the masses Annie slipped out of the hall and as she did she could feel Mikasa and Reiner glaring at her. Once Annie was out in the corridor a sharp hiss ringed in her ears. _You know what is happening...Are you ready? _BothGrief and Desire had exited the darkness of Annie's mind and had began coiling around and around the entirety of Annie's mind. As she followed her commander Annie looked out of one of the many windows that lined the station, from the corridor she could make out the faint silhouette of her clock tower, Annie felt her heart sink slightly in her chest she honestly did enjoy spending time up there alone but as she walked past Annie saw something that made her happy to be leaving.

Standing upon the edge of the spire was a figure. A tall figure with smoky grey eyes. Seeing 'him' there had a dramatic reaction on both Grief and Desire. _Look Annie! He is right there, you could sneak one kiss before you leave. _Desire cooed, causing Annie to ball her fists. _No. You must focus on the task at hand! _It was a strange situation for Annie to agree with one of her snakes but she actually deemed Grief's suggestion to be a good one. So she forced the image and memory of Bertolt out of her mind and refocused her attention on the man in front of her.

"Sir." Annie said. "Is he awake?" The words were thick and heavy in Annie's mouth.

"Yes he is, Eren woke up late last night and preparations have been made since then for your arrival." Annie went to ask about to make one final, desperate protest against her orders when Nile cut her off. "Before you ask. No. Now come on I'll explain more once we get there."

"Yes sir." Annie said through gritted teeth and clenched fists.

"Don't worry about your things, we have already packed them up and moved them off to your temporary lodging." Nile stated as he pulled a silver flask from his jacket pocket.

"Where might that be? Sir." Annie said with a sliver of curiosity.

"You'll be staying at a special installation in Mitras." Nile sighed tiredly.

Annie's breath caught slightly at this revelation. She would be staying in the royal capital, while Annie was still not pleased about having to talk to Eren this did provide a most fortunate opportunity. By going along with this interrogation Annie could hope to learn more about the possible location of the so called 'Original'. Although it seemed like a dream this could be a huge step for her. A step that would bring her closer to home.

"Yes sir." Annie said with a strange and foreign sense of optimism.

* * *

The journey from Stohess to Mitras took only a few hours by river boat. In fact, by the time Annie arrived in the luxurious town, the sun had only just begun descending from its zenith. From the moment Annie stepped off the boat she felt a mixture of astonishment and disgust: part of her was bewildered by the staggering beauty of Mitras. It made the shiny city of Stohess look like the desolate ruins of Trost. However another part of her was revolted that the few people who lived in Mitras could live with such ease and in such pleasure while those elsewhere in the walls are forced to live with Titans clawing at their 50 meter doors.

"Leonhart. Stop gawking and come along!" Nile snapped breaking Annie out of her momentary trance.

"Yes sir." Annie replied before falling in line with her commander. "Sir...Where will I be staying?" There was a tiny hint of excitement in her tone, as if a small part of her was excited to experience the so called 'high life.'

"Don't get your hopes up." He once again reached for his signature silver flask, after taking a quick swig he stuffed the container back into his jacket. "Like I said, you will be staying in a special installation. Eren Jeager is being kept deep underground, your quarters aren't far above his cell." Annie frowned at this, something about going underground made the girl feel...uneasy, it made her feel trapped and with good reason. Being as Nile Dok put it 'deep' underground would make it near impossible to escape if she was forced to 'change'. However Annie had made it through five years of being in the Walls without being caught so she tried not to let it bug her too much.

_Remember why you're here Ann._ Grief had surfaced from whatever pit it had slithered out of, and at the disturbing tone of its hiss Annie winced slightly and refocused her mind on her mission.

"What time will I be seeing Er-him?" Annie stuttered.

Nile snorted at her before answering. "Later this afternoon, once we arrive at the facility you will be shown to your quarters where you will unpack...Then we move on to the main event."

His almost optimistic tone made Annie's stomach knot - it was slowly dawning on her that in a matter of hours she would be faced with Eren. This daunting thought caused a strange reaction in Desire. A reaction that frightened Annie. The icy eyed Titan shifter would have to fight her all consuming desire for the warmth of a human body and based on her previous encounters with Desire Annie wasn't sure she could win.

From the ferry port Annie, the commander and the accompanying soldiers took a convoy of carriages to the facility where Eren was being held. Being stuck in a confined space with a chief who reeked of liquor gave Annie a lot of time to think, she turned her head to look out of the small window of the cart and for a brief moment...Annie let her thoughts wander.

As the minutes trailed on and on Annie's mind wandered back in time to a place so much more pleasant and carefree. To home. It seemed that more and more Annie found herself dreaming of her home and her father. She longed to leave this wretched place and return home just like her father begged, it didn't matter if she would get home Annie would walk there if that's what it took. It was only a matter of when and with who she would travel with.

"We're here." Nile's voice shook Annie from her seemingly perpetual trance, she quickly shook her head and her daydreams petered out into thin air. "About time." He muttered. Annie disembarked the sturdy wooden carriage and once her ocean blue eyes had adjusted to the unusually bright sunlight she could clearly make out the sight of a large castle like structure that was situated at the end of a long straight walkway that was lined with large Rowan trees.

"You will be staying here for the next few days." Said one of the soldiers that was busy unloading Annie's single bag from the carriage.

Annie walked alongside Nile as they made their way towards the castle, once they neared the large oaken door Annie heard a faint whisper that sent shivers down her spine. _He is probably directly below us now. _Annie didn't want to believe what Grief was saying but she knew deep down that Eren was right below her and she was right.

"Sir!" A young soldier with shortly cut snow white hair and olive green eyes rushed up to commander Nile. "The preparations for your arrival have been completed, all we need to do now is brief..." She paused.

"Annie Leonhart." Nile sighed.

"Yes sir, Annie Leonhart will be briefed before the interrogation begins." The soldier finished.

"Good work. You're dismissed." With that the soldier saluted before turning on her heels and running off down one of the numerous corridors that mazed around the castle.

"Briefed sir?" Annie said with a tiny hint of frustration in her voice.

"You know...just a safety brief to make sure he doesn't turn into a Titan and try to kill us." It slightly worried Annie how easily these words were spoken.

"I see." Annie mumbled. "How much do we know about his abilities before I visit him?" She questioned.

Nile sighed. "To be honest pretty much nothing. All we know is that by causing a self-inflicted injury he can create and 'control' a Titan body but that's it." Annie was slightly relieved that the Military police had such little knowledge of Titan Shifters. "I mean you saw him at Trost, he is a monster." He quickly added.

"But sir if he does transform what can we do to stop him from attacking us?" Annie wanted to know if the police had an effective means of dealing with a Titan Shifter.

"All the precautions we have taken were designed to prevent him from transforming. You don't need to worry about that." He explained.

"That's reassuring..." Annie mumbled.

* * *

Much to Annie's boredom and frustration, the safety brief took nearly an hour. The man heading the session outlined the basics of how to 'interact' with the Titan shifter. Annie paid very little attention during the entire brief so as a result she was quite surprised when a flare gun and sound grenade were shoved into her hand.

"What are these for?" Annie asked slightly dumbfounded.

"Weren't you listening?" Asked the soldier who lead the presentation, Annie shrugged her shoulders. "Just sound these if something is wrong." He huffed before walking away mumbling curses under his breath.

After loading the sound grenade a female soldier with hazel brown hair came up beside her and saluted. "Please follow me. It's time." Annie's jaw clenched, this was it, there was no more avoiding it. She would have to face Eren weather she like it or not. Annie sighed and stood from her seat and as she followed the soldier down the winding staircase Annie could hear the laughter of both Grief and Desire as each step brought her closer and closer to the Titan Shifter with a broken heart.

* * *

"He's in the cell at the end of the corridor." The voice of Annie's escort was a slight comfort to the girl. The bottom of the stairway lead out into a long straight corridor, the walls of which were lined with torches that gave the dark and dingy path an unnatural yellow glow "Remember if something is wrong just sound the grenade." With that the large, heavy door slammed shut and Annie was left all alone.

_Better get a move on Annie. You don't want to keep him waiting._ Grief and Desire hissed in scarily perfect sync. Annie held on to the flare gun in one hand and a clipboard with a pen in the other, with shaky breath she made her way down the corridor. _The cell at the end..don't forget. _

"How could I?" Annie snapped louder than she had planned.

"Annie!" A shuddering voice came echoing down the pathway causing Annie to stop in her tracks. "Annie! Is that you?" The sharpness of his words chilled Annie to her core.

Annie took a long, deep breath and took a heavy step forward. "Annie!? Is someone there?" He called once again and once again Annie had to take a deep breath before taking another daunting step towards his cell. "I know I heard someone!" Annie was so close to the cell that she could hear the sound of Eren's chains striking against the walls. With one final breath Annie stepped out in front of Eren's cell with the sound of her snakes hissing with glee and another crack appearing in her 'egg'.

The moment Annie entered Eren's field of vision he pulled against his chains. "Annie!" His olive eyes scanned over her entire body once and then twice. "Are you okay?" This question took Annie by surprise, she expected him to barrage her with rage filled curses not concern for her health and wellbeing. However, Annie didn't know what would happen if she began talking to him as if they were back in training. So to protect her fragile sanity she encased her heart in a crystal shell, a form of amour far stronger than any of the walls she had built during her many years of training with her father.

"Trainee Eren Jeager. Do you know why am I here?" Annie started; it felt familiar to speak in such a blank and icy tone.

"What? What are you talking about Annie?" Eren stuttered in sheer disbelief.

"I'm here to debrief you over the series of events that lead to the sealing of Wall Rose." Annie deadpanned.

"Do you not care at all over what happened?" Eren pleaded.

To her surprise Annie found a tiny fracture in her crystal shield. She called on as much of her composure as she could muster before answering. "That is beside the point. I have some questions for you, are you prepared to answer them?"

"BESIDE THE POINT!" Eren yelled with such ferocity that Annie felt her blood go cold in her veins. "You have no idea what it is like to be treated as a monster!" Eren spat to Greif's delight. _Oh if only he knew… _To which Annie winced ever so slightly. "Do you remember what I told you when we were back in training?" He added weakly.

_Go on Annie, humour him. Maybe he would be more willing to answer your questions if you played his games. _Annie bit her tongue and swallowed her pride before silently agreeing

"We said quite a lot of things to each other during training." Annie had momentarily lowered her walls. It felt odd and scarily familiar to open her normally sealed gates to someone. "You'll have to be more specific."

A small and hopeful smile rose on Eren's cheeks and Annie felt Desire hiss loudly. "I told you that I would one day make the world safe for you," Eren paused and looked down at his shackles. "I haven't forgotten that." He added quietly.

"And how do you plan to 'make the world safe'?" Annie questioned.

"You were in Trost. I can...Turn into a Titan." Eren said weakly as he ran his fingers through his oaken hair.

"Yeah...I got a pretty good view but...How?" Annie did her best to sound as confused as possible.

At first Eren couldn't reply: he wore an expression that was a potent mixture of painful memories and unfocused rage. After what felt like an hour Eren spoke up. "When I cause an injury to myself I can make a Titan body." He once again paused. "I think it has something to do with my dad." At the mention of his father both Annie and Eren balled their fists.

Annie unclenched her fists long enough so that she could scribble down notes about Eren's father and his abilities. Once she had filled one half of a page Annie put her pencil down and faced Eren again. She opened her mouth to ask about Eren's memories of his father when he cut her off.

"Why did you leave me up there on the wall?" While his voice was almost inaudible it showed no signs of cracks or breaks.

Annie knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to say how the Eren she knew had died fighting in Trost but looking at the boy in front of her Annie knew that was a lie. Instead Annie decided to play on Eren's previous experiences of grief and loss.

"You know more than most how it feels to lose someone to the Titans." At her cruel and painful words Eren physically recoiled. "You felt crushing amounts of sadness and pain. And all consuming rage and unequaled anger. Well that is what I felt when you got eaten."

Eren hunched his shoulders and released a long shaky breath before answering. "I didn't want to get eaten, Annie."

Annie had to contain a sarcastic laugh at these words. "Oh please Eren. We know that isn't true." Grief and Desire grinned wickedly from the darkness, Annie's cracks were finally coming together. "You want to go out there and kill all the Titans with the Survey Corps. To me that means you want to go out there and die a martyr." She sneered.

"With my power I can do it! I can kill them all and then you will see!" Eren shouted with fire in his usually lush green eyes.

"You have no idea what it is like out there." Annie muttered under her breath.

The two of them remained in an awkward silence for many minutes before Eren decided to break the uneasy quiet. "How is everyone else doing?"

Annie sighed, this was not going how she planned. This was quickly going off topic and Annie knew she had to get things back on track. "Fine I guess. I mean you did try to kill Mikasa but she is doing pretty well."

Eren's eyes widened with horror. "I tried to do what!?"

Anne raised a single eyebrow and picked up her pencil. "You don't remember?"

"I don't remember much of when I transformed then. It was all kind of blurry like a dream." Eren's expression had changed to one of worry and concern, he looked at his balled fists before whispering. "I can't believe I tried to kill Mikasa."

"That was your third transformation right?" Annie questioned in a tone filled with curiosity.

"Yeah it was I guess. The first when I got eaten, then when I stopped the cannon shell and then when I sealed the wall." Eren shrugged.

Annie fought a smile that picked at her lips. She knew that multiple 'shifts' could cause serious problem, Eren was giving her massive amounts of useful information without even realising it.

"Is that important?" Eren questioned.

"Look I have to record all useful information whatever that means." Annie sighed.

Eren hummed and once again an uneasy silence fell on them. Neither Annie or Eren knew how to break this uncomfortable trance. That is until Eren mustered up the courage to ask about the events that unfolded upon the top of Wall Rose.

"Do you still hate me?" Eren's eyes were filled with hope and dread.

''Like I said back there. My father warned me that letting people close to me would only lead to pain. He was right." Annie refused to meet Eren's eye.

"I didn't want to get eaten. Don't you get that?" Eren retorted.

"What you want doesn't matter. What matters is what happened." Annie had lost count of the number of cracks that had appeared in her heart. She needed to end this now. "I got hurt because of you, I don't want to have to feel like that again."

"You may not care for all the times we had together. But I still do. I remember them all. The cave, the training in the forest, the pool we found. All of them," Eren paused to wipe the shiny tears from his emerald green eyes. "You weren't the only one who got hurt. Being trapped here means I can't do much other than go over old memories. I am FORCED to remember what you did to me." By this point Annie was ready to leave, she stood from her small wooden stool. "And it makes my heart ache." Annie stopped.

"Why do you still care Eren?" Annie was shocked by how easily she said his name.

Eren looked up and stared directly at her. "Because I still love you Annie. That isn't going to change."

Annie sighed and turned away from him. "Then you are even more of a fool than I thought." With that Annie walked down the corridor towards the door with her clipboard and flare gun in hand. _Why is your heart racing Annie? _Grief questioned with a malefic tone. Annie didn't answer. Instead she threw open the heavy door and began climbing the stairs. As she did Annie noticed two people also walking down the stairway. They were wearing the wings of freedom on their uniforms. One was an almost laughably short man with ebony black hair and a bored tired expression on his face. The other was much much taller than his companion, he had golden hair that reminded Annie of Reiner's blonde locks, his eyes were sharp and focused on the path in front of him. Annie also noticed he wore a bolo tie signifying he was the commander of the Survey Corps. As a result Annie was forced to stop and salute the men as they walked past with their military police escorts behind them, she watched them turn into the dark corridor before continuing up the stairway and once she reached the top Annie turned to face the dingy path way and from the bottom she could hear someone talking in a solid and confident voice.

"Any questions?"


	18. Can you fight it?

_Hey Hey! Firstly I want say that since my exams are FINALLY over I will be able to upload more chapters more frequently! Also...over 4500 views! That is just crazy I want to say thank you for each and everyone. Without you people reading my story there simply wouldn't be one. _

_Secondly I want to say thanks to my friend who helped proofread this (You know who you are) It is a big big help. _

_Finally I would like to recommend a story called 'Malevolence' by one of the greatest fan fic authors out there 'Euregatto' _

_So as usual please enjoy the chapter and see you next time! _

* * *

_Why is your heart racing Annie? _Annie tossed and turned in her luxurious sheet. Since the golden sun had set beneath the horizon Grief and Desire had been viciously attacking her.

''Go away.'' Annie barked from under the covers; having her own quarters in Mitras meant she wasn't worried about people eavesdropping on her 'private' conversations.

_Don't tell me you still care for him? _Grief hissed harshly.

''Of course not!'' Annie retorted.

_I think you're lying... you still want to be with him. _Desire spat with a cruel laugh.

''No! Leave me alone.'' Annie begged. This ritualistic torture that she endured every night of every day was beginning to take its toll on her. ''I need him so I can go home that's all.'' Even Annie couldn't tell if these words were truthful or not - she had lost count of the number of times she had lied to herself in a desperate bid to be rid of the snakes that haunted her every waking moment.

_If this is all for...professional reasons, why is your heart racing? _Grief always seemed more complicated than Desire.

''B-because I was nervous.'' Annie mumbled.

Both the snakes erupted into a synchronized cackle that caused Annie to wince. _That is pathetic even by your standards! _Under the cloud of maniacal laughter, Annie was fighting tears that were threatening to flood down her cheeks.

_You're going to have to face him again tomorrow as well! _Desire hissed loudly. At the thought of facing him once again Annie balled her fists and bit her tongue. Despite the deafening noise that echoed in her head Annie focused on a single thought. She effortlessly threw the covers from her body and stood from her opulent bed. Despite the darkness of the clouded night Annie had very little trouble dressing herself in the black.

Lighting a single candle, Annie pulled back the curtains and the eerie light of the blocked moon seeped into her room. Using both the yellow radiance of her candle and the ghostly glow of the white orb in the sky, Annie found the latch that locked her window. It took only moments for her to unlock the window and with a seconds hesitation she vaulted out into the bitter cold without leaving a single trace of her silent exit.

The area surrounding the castle was a thick forest of large trees that reached into the sky. Due to the vast canopy above her, very little light filtered through to the forest floor. As a result, Annie's vision was reduced to only a few feet in front of her but she didn't care. _Where are you going? _ Grief asked.

Annie remained silent.

_Oohh... I think someone is angry! _Desire chuckled. At that moment, Annie came to a stop; in front of her was a small clearing in the woods. In the very center was a lone, decrepit ash tree. With the blanket of leaves and branches above her gone Annie found it a lot easier to see. Slowly, she walked up to the tree and took her jacket off.

_I see...well whatever floats your boat. _Grief was quickly cut off by the sound of Annie's leg colliding with the trunk of the lone tree. Pain seared through her leg and up her back as she drew back to prepare her next strike. In a single fluid motion Annie raised her fists above her head and rested her right foot half a pace back, she exhaled slowly as her muscles reacted to the familiar pain in her leg.

Annie raised her right foot and swung her leg in a wide arc towards the bark. A loud thud echoed through the clearing and Annie gritted her teeth as her leg struck the tree over and over again. It had been too long a time since she had last trained herself like this, as Annie swapped to the other leg her thoughts drifted back to a much happier time.

*flashback*

''That's my girl!'' Annie's father bellowed. Spurred on by the rare praise Annie kicked the pad around her father's leg even harder than before. Surprised by the strength of her strike, the silver haired man stumbled back several steps before coming to a stop.

''How was that father?'' The young girl asked with hope in her icy eyes.

Her father walked up to her with a smile brimming with pride on his face. ''You are becoming a fine fighter and someday...'' There was a brief flash of sadness in his eyes. ''You will be a finer warrior than I.''

''You think so?'' Annie questioned.

Her father was about to answer when someone cut him off. ''If you practise everyday I'm sure you will become stronger than all of us.'' Annie turned on her heels and scanned the area for the source of the voice.

It didn't take long before she found who had spoken. ''Everyday?'' Annie sulked.

''Everyday.'' The voice reassured in a soft and gentle tone, what young Annie couldn't see was the sorrow and despair in the eyes of her father…and her mother.

*flashback ends*

Annie stopped in her tracks - tears were threatening to cascade down her reddened cheeks.

_What did I just see? _Grief questioned.

''Nothing.'' Annie stuttered. The very thought of her mother was enough to bring her normally invincible heart to the brink of breaking.

_Do you get to think about her like that after what you did?_ Grief yelled. It was the first time that Annie had heard one of her snakes sound remotely angry and it terrified her. The

_You know what Annie?_ Grief asked in a chilling tone.

''I don't care.'' Annie matched the ice in Griefs voice.

_What do you think she would say if she saw you now? _Cold fingers danced up Annie's spine at the very thought.

''Stop it!'' There was a flicker of anger in the way she spoke.

_Because I think...she would be disgusted! _Grief violently struck Annie's mind.

Rage surged through Annie's veins, with all her strength she struck the tree with such power a large crack appeared in the bark of her target. ''ENOUGH!''Annie yelled. She pulled back from the tree for a momentary break. ''I don't know how much more of this I can take.'' She hummed into the chilly air.

_Why don't you ever think of her? Or for that matter the rest of your family? _This was a question Annie never wanted to be asked, she briefly remembered a time when Eren had once asked her of her past. Annie had simply said that she didn't want to and that was that, but Grief was different, no matter how much she tried to run away Grief and Desire would follow.

''Because I...miss them.'' In the five years Annie had been on her mission she rarely if ever thought of home and the people waiting for her. ''Because if I start thinking about them, I know I will want to go home.''

_Is that a bad thing? _Even Desire sounded intrigued.

''I'm not strong enough to deal with petty homesickness on top of everything else.'' Annie's voice was frail and weak.

_Your ticket home is right under your feet Annie. _Grief suggested.

Annie laughed sarcastically. ''Then what? I'm in the royal capital. There are over 400 km between me and Wall Maria.''

_They won't keep him locked up there forever... you just need to wait for the right moment to strike._ Grief explained with a wicked smile.

This time Annie couldn't hold back her tears, she fell to her knees with the shiny beads of water trickling down her cheeks. ''Wait for the right moment to strike...'' These were the first words her mother told her during training.

Annie spent the rest of the night in the little clearing. By the time the first streaks of orange light rose from the horizon, Annie's leg was throbbing in pain. During her relentless training against the lone tree Annie had hit her leg enough times to break it several times over however to Annie a shattered bone was a mere inconvenience.

_Annie. Stop. _Grief sounded weary and tired. It made sense - if Annie were to become worn out, then her snakes would also share her exhaustion.

''I have to train.'' Annie's limbs felt as if they weighed twice as much as normal, her bones were bruised, and she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

_You have to see him again today. How are you going to do that if you're too tired? _It was strange to hear Desire say something that made logical sense. _You probably have a few hours before they wake up. _The snake added.

''Fine...I'll go get some rest.'' Annie sighed. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned loudly. After picking her jacket up from the cold forest floor, Annie made her way back to the castle. She was silently thankful that she remembered to keep her window unlocked.

Without making a noise, Annie slipped back into her room just as the vibrant orange hem of the sun climbed over the horizon. The sight of her warm and inviting bed just highlighted how tired she really was. Five hours of continuous strain and grueling pain had taken a dramatic effect on Annie's body; her normally ocean blue eyes were bloodshot and hidden behind her heavy eyelids. As Annie ambled towards her mattress each step felt slower and clumsier than the last. Once Annie reached the edge of her bed she simply collapsed into the soft fabric of her blanket. Her eyes slowly shut until she fell into a blissful and much needed sleep.

''LEONHART! WAKE UP!'' A pounding voice shook through her room and Annie's eyes shot open. ''IN THE DINING ROOM IN TEN MINUTES!'' Anger and pure frustration poured through her body. Annie considered ignoring her orders in favour of getting some decent rest when Desire exited its pit.

_You better do as he says Annie...you could learn more about Eren today. _Desire whispered with a tiny smirk.

''Why are you acting so...logical?'' Annie said groggily as she pulled on her Military Police jacket.

_I hav- I mean... you have your reasons. _Desire was slowly wrapping coils around her exhausted and sleep deprived mind.

''Shut up.'' Annie protested weakly as Desire prepared to launch a brutal and devastating attack.

* * *

''I went over your notes from yesterday and I want you to focus more on Eren's father.'' Nile explained as he took a bite out of his breakfast meal.

''Why his father?'' Annie yawned as she pushed her food around her plate with her fork.

''When you questioned him Eren mentioned him when describing his powers. If we learn about Grisha Jeager we might learn about his power.'' Nile said as he pulled out his silver flask.

Annie flinched involuntarily at the name Grisha for reasons she didn't truly understand. ''Okay then, anything else...Sir?'' Annie didn't realise that her fists were balled.

''Just learn what you can...Dismissed.'' With that Annie stood from the table and slowly made her way to the door that would lead her to her next 'date' with Eren.

The door to the stairwell opened to reveal the soldier who briefed her the day before. In her hand was another clipboard and sound grenade. ''You'll need these again.'' Annie sighed and stretched her arms above her head.

''Fine, fine.'' She said sleepily, Annie grabbed the clipboard and grenade before sighing yet again and making her way down the stairs all the while Desire prepared its venomous fangs.

* * *

The moment Eren heard the door to the cell block open he sat up on his bed and awaited his visitor. The moment Annie stepped out in front of his cell his olive green eyes widened and he rushed forward to the steel bars that separated the two of them.

''Annie! You're back.'' Eren was both confused and overjoyed to see her once again.

''Why the tone of surprise?'' She looked away momentarily. ''It's not as if I want to be here.'' Annie mumbled to herself.

''So what can I help you with?'' Eren asked as he leaned back against the stone wall.

Annie yawned and pulled out a wooden chair. She fell back into her seat before replying. ''There are more questions I need to ask you.'' Annie did her best to sound disinterested.

''Like what?'' Eren raised an eyebrow.

''About you father...Grisha.'' Once again Annie clenched her fists; however, Eren didn't notice - he was too busy staring into Annie's icy eyes. ''Why are you looking at me like that?'' Annie asked as she pulled out her pen. _Don't tell me you don't like it when he looks at you like that. _Grief had wrapped another coil around her mind. ''Shut up.'' Annie spat much louder than she had anticipated.

''I didn't say anything.'' Eren leaned forward with curiosity brimming in his eyes.

''I know!'' Annie said in a harsh and cold tone. _Oh this is fun! _Desire giggled. Annie ignored the serpent to focus on her task. ''Lets get this over with.'' She sighed.

''Okay then. What's the first question, Ann?'' Eren didn't realise he had used Annie's nickname until the words had already spilled from his lips.

Annie glared daggers at the boy in chains. Eren didn't need to hear the ice in her voice to feel the fury and rage that was radiating from her. ''I'll begin questioning now.'' Annie hissed. ''Tell me about your father.'' She ordered.

''What about him?'' Eren replied.

Annie's tired eyes refused to meet his stare. ''Do you know where he is?''

''No, the last time I saw him was...'' His gaze sank to his palms which quickly balled into tight fists. ''On the day Wall Maria fell.'' Eren added through gritted teeth. ''But...'' He mumbled.

''But what?'' Annie asked as she massaged her temples.

''The day after the wall fell I had a dream about him, I-'' Annie cut him off.

''I don't care about your dreams.'' She rolled her eyes at him and fiddled with her pen.

''I was going to say how it felt scarily real. I was in the forest with my dad, when I think he...injected me with something.'' Annie's eyes shot bolt open. ''Next thing I knew I woke up with a key around my neck.'' He shrugged.

Annie had to fight the panic in her mind to regain her composure. ''Injected?'' She couldn't hide the cracks that had suddenly appeared in her voice. _If he was injected...Only the royal family use that method. _''I know.'' She hissed quietly. _Does...that mean Eren has the Original in his body? _Annie found that there were no words in her throat to disagree.

''Yeah he had this long needle, it looked like it had a pink liquid inside of it but I'm not sure.'' Eren explained before leaning forward once again. ''Is this important?'' There was a tiny smiling curling at his lips.

Annie didn't notice the smirk on his face, her mind was racing at terrifying speeds. Under the thick blanket of thoughts that were buzzing through her mind the 'egg' that had been planted in the fiery remains of Trost started to hatch and out of the shattered remains of the figurative egg came another creature. A being that embodied a feeling that she thought to have been forced out of her body... Hope. The animal that hide behind the shell of her mind had finally broken free. _You could go home to them Annie. _She knew it was wrong to hope and to dream but the chance of finally returning home after five long years was too much to ignore.

''Why are you smiling Annie?'' Eren asked with a hint of confusion.

Annie hadn't realised that there was a huge grin spreading from ear to ear. She took a moment to peer inside herself to see new addition into her crowded head. Hope was far different from the other snakes - while Grief and Desire chose to slink in the shadows and strike when Annie least expected it, Hope was different. Hope had wings. Wings that lifted her heart and ignited a warming feeling in her chest. But as Annie would soon find out Hope was a dangerous thing.

''Annie?'' Eren asked yet again.

Annie immediately refocused her thoughts on the shifter in front of her. ''Is there anything else you remember about him?'' She raised her pen up to her paper.

Eren's eyes dropped and his entire body slumped and weakened. ''I...I don't remember, he injected me and I think I passed out.'' Eren shuddered at the thought. ''When I woke up he was gone and Mikasa was there.'' He added.

''I see.'' Annie said as she roughly scribbled down various notes. ''Well I think that is enough for the day.'' Annie stood from her chair and made her way towards the door when Eren called out for her.

''Wait! Please stay a little longer.'' He pleaded. ''The guards never talk to me, they treat me like a monster.''

''Well they shou-...'' Annie started when Desire sank its venom coated fangs into Annie's mind. At that very moment she felt the void when she was the clock tower with Bertolt and since Eren and his unique warmth was only a few meters away, Annie found it impossible to resist. Her sleep deprived mind was an easy target for the vile creature.

Desire was in control once again.

Annie walked back out in front of Eren's cell much to his delight, she took her seat and placed it much closer to the metal bars so that there was only a meter or two between them. ''Well what do you want to talk about?'' Annie asked with a glint of lust in her eyes.

A coral pink blush erupted from his cheeks and he began twiddling with his thumbs. ''I was wondering how you're doing?'' He mumbled.

Annie smirked and rested her head on her hands. ''Is that really what you wanted to know?'' Desire's fangs sank even deeper into her thoughts.

''Are you feeling okay Ann?'' Eren was slightly confused by the sudden change in Annie's attitude.

''I'm feeling fine Eren.'' At the sound of his name coming from Annie's lips Eren's heart lurched in his chest, he to was starting to hope for the impossible. He was starting to hope that soon Annie would learn to love him again.

''So how is the rest of the 104th?'' Eren was starting to relax into the conversation.

''Everyone is doing good I hear.'' Desire purposefully made Annie leave out the part about the tragic loss of Marco Bott.

''Why are you acting so differently from yesterday?'' Eren couldn't shift the thought that something was troubling the blue eyed girl.

''...I thought about what you said.'' A burning sensation was spreading across Annie's mind, part of her knew she was lying and part of her wanted to lie, the conflict was slowly tearing her apart.

''And?'' Eren moved up against the prison bars.

Desire pulled away for the briefest of moments only to prepare a potent and venomous attack. The vile snake bore down into Annie's mind with all its might.

Annie shot out a single hand through the steel pillars and clamped down on the collar of Eren's shirt.

''Annie?'' Eren whimpered.

Using all her strength Annie pulled Eren up against the bars and smashed her lips against Eren's. The heat Annie had felt when she kissed Bertolt was nothing compared to the fire that was ignited by Eren's lips; the kiss with Bertolt felt impure and inferior in the shadow of this embrace.

Eren's lips melted against Annie's, as they had done many times in the past. He was so engrossed in the kiss that he didn't bother fighting the tears that suddenly clouded his vision. In the cold of his cell this gesture of pure need and want Eren found a blazing inferno in Annie's lips.

Annie's mind on the other hand was not filled with raging fires of love and connection, instead it was a violent typhoon, part of her body was reacting to the familiar taste and feel of Eren's skin pressed tightly against her own, her tongue pressing against Eren's mouth begging for entrance. Yet despite this all consuming desire for more heat, for more skin, for more...Eren. Annie found herself disgusted at her own actions, she wanted to pull away from Eren and make him pay for causing her this pain but... She couldn't.

Eventually it was Eren who pulled away and when he did Annie was horrified by the look of hope and warmth in his tear filled olive eyes.

''Annie...I-I thought...'' Eren was tripping over his own words when Annie shoved him back against the wall of his cell. ''Annie?'' He started.

By the time the stars in his vision faded Annie was already on her feet and gathering her things. ''Don't. You. Ever. Talk. To. Me. Again.'' Annie hissed with all the poison she could muster.

''What is wrong with you Annie?'' Eren roared, his heart was hammering in his chest with a mixture of rage and affection.

Annie replied by loading the sound grenade into her flare gun, she aimed the barrel of her gun directly at Eren who raised his fists in futile defence, her finger rested on the trigger. Eren however noticed a slight twitch in her trigger finger. ''Go on then! Shoot me! But know that whatever you do to me. I. Won't. Give. Up. On. Loving. You.'' Annie could feel the heat radiating from his body.

Behind the icy eyes that held the grenade Annie was fighting Desire...And she was winning. _This. Is. My. Life. _Desire was losing its grasp, the venom that had been forced into her mind was being burned away by the boiling and unrelenting fire in her heart.

''So shoot me!'' Eren bellowed.

Annie had finally snapped and out of that fissure came a blood curdling scream. A shriek that erupted from the girl. A beastly howl that was drowned out in the deafening bang of the gun in Annie's hand going off.

The ring of the grenade echoed through the dungeon, Eren clasped his hands over his ears but Annie. Annie watched on with tears in her cobalt eyes. A moment later two soldiers burst through the thick wooden door with blades and muskets in hand. One rushed up to Annie and grabbed her unoccupied arm before dragging away from the cell. While the other trained his rifle at the chained boy while yelling at him not to move a muscle.

''I won't ever give up on you Annie! Do you hear me!?'' Those were the last words Annie heard from him before she was hastily dragged up the stairs.

* * *

''WHAT HAPPENED?'' Nile threw his papers on his desk

''He just-'' Annie stuttered.

''He what!?'' Nile shouted.

''He brought up things from the past!'' She eventually spat out.

''And that is an excuse to fire the sound flare is it?'' Nile massaged his temples before continuing. ''If he had been shot because of you...Well it doesn't matter now.'' He sighed.

''What do you mean sir?'' Annie's eyes were bloodshot from the streams of tears that had until a few hours ago been blurred her normally sharp eyesight.

''That bastard Erwin talked to Commander in Chief Darius Zackly.'' Nile ran his fingers through his ebony black hair.

''Meaning sir?'' Annie was becoming curious by the mention of the Commander.

''Meaning that he wants custody of Eren! And your little stunt down there caused Darius to give him a chance.'' The frustration in his voice was clearly prominent. ''I have orders from above to keep him contained. If the Corps get him then I am the one who gets in trouble. Meaning you get in trouble.'' He added with more authority.

''I understand sir.'' Annie was forced to swallow her anger as she faced her commander.

''Do you now? Well you are going to have to.'' He added.

''What do you mean sir?'' Behind her back Annie had clenched her fists.

Nile took a long time to reply, before he did he reached into his jacket and pulled out the silver flask that Annie had become sick of seeing. ''You're going to be present at the tribunal.''

''What!? Why?'' Annie shouted much to her commanders annoyance.

''You are going to provide evidence over what happened in Trost.'' He paused to take a quick sip. ''And you are going to present your finds from your questioning with Eren.''

Annie felt her fractured heart sink in her chest as Grief slithered out of its pit and Hope recoiled into the nothingness of her very being.

She was going to be forced to relive all of what had just happened...In front of the entire military court.


	19. Blood, Broken bones and Wicked smiles

_A/N: _Hey hey I'm bbaaccckkk! This was a good one to write I had a good time with this one. I do feel as though Mikasa might be a little OOC towards the end, please PM me or review me about her character and how I can improve.

As usual please review or PM me with any suggestions at all. All messages are welcome.

Also please go and read 'Broken walls' by fleeting thunder it is a sweet Betolt x Ymir oneshot And like always I'll see you next time!

* * *

_Now you know about Eren's abilities, what will you do? _The sun had barely began to rise into the sky and already Annie was being hassled by Grief.

"It's too early to think about that now." She said sleepily as she tied the laces on her leather boots. Surprisingly, Grief agreed with her statement and for the mean time slithered back into the shadows, giving Annie a brief and greatly cherished moment of absolute silence.

Today was a day that Annie was not looking forward to at all: he would be forced to stand in front of the single most important military figure in all of the Walls. To make matters worse, she had found out the night before that Eren and Mikasa would be present - those were two people Annie wasn't particularly kean on meeting. Furthermore, her superiors had placed a huge weight on Annie's shoulders: she had to convince Commander in Chief Zackly that Eren was better kept in the hands of the Military Police, as to not ensue panic and worry in the masses.

_So, have you planned what you're going to say? _Annie sighed. Once again her much desired moment of quiet had been shattered by Grief.

"I haven't even eaten yet. I'll think about it when the time comes." Annie moaned as she made her way towards the door. The corridor was unusually busy for the abnormally early hour that Annie had woken at. Soldiers and government officials were rushing back and forth, making preparations for possibly the most far fetched military tribunal in human history. Word of Eren Jaeger's abilities had spread through the Walls like wildfire, to the point where the military government was forced to step in.

Through the crowds of worried faces, Annie could make out the signature emblem of the Wings of Freedom - the purple and white feathers could only signify the presence of the Survey Corps. In other words? The people that want to take Eren into the outside world. From her end of the corridor, Annie could see only two members of the Corps. One of them was the tallest man Annie had ever seen in her life. He had muddy blond hair, a thin moustache and beard, and wore an expression of intense boredom. Annie swore she could see him sniffing the air as people rushed past him, and reminded herself to stay well clear of this strange man.

The other was much shorter, and wore her greasy chocolate brown hair up in a messy bun much like Annie's. She could see that the woman wore a set of glasses that were strapped behind her head. Even from her room Annie could hear her cackling and laughing about her highly controversial experiments.

_You better get moving Annie. _Grief was right in this case: Annie had very little time before she had to report to the courtroom. Nodding, she took a deep breath before venturing out into the veritable river of people. She was quickly swept along by the flow of human traffic, and due to her short height, Annie struggled to see over those that blocked her way. _Do you even know where you're going? _Annie could barely hear her snake over the sound of those that surrounded her.

"Shut up, of course I do." Annie growled under her breath. Thankfully, due to the noise of the bustling soldiers around her, no one could hear her mutterings.

Though it took far longer than she had hoped, Annie eventually managed to push and shove her way to the mess hall. By the time she arrived, Annie was very hungry and even more frustrated. "Finally. That took ages." Annie huffed as she picked up her plate. Once Annie had piled her plate high with food she found an empty table in the far corner of the canteen.

The moment Annie sat down she was glad that the mess hall was so crowded - just as Annie set her plate on the table someone walked through the door. Someone that Annie wanted to avoid as much as possible. Someone called Mikasa Ackerman.

Annie quickly leaned down as to make herself seem as small as possible. Annie and Mikasa's relationship was… _tenuous, _at best: due to the fact that Annie's icy attitude and Mikasa's sharp vigilance often caused sparks of confrontation between them, the two girls didn't exactly get on. Annie was far too tired and far too frustrated to deal with the raven haired girl. Mikasa stood in the doorway and scanned the room; Annie was certain that it would only be a matter of seconds before she was spotted. She closed her eyes, wishing that she could just fade out of existence, when she heard someone calling for Mikasa. Annie opened her eyes to see a short boy with blond hair come up behind her. She recognised him as one of Eren's closest friends, Armin Alert. Being so far away Annie couldn't hear what Armin was saying to her but in the end she was thankful when she saw Mikasa turn around and leave the hall.

Annie started to tuck into her breakfast which consisted of runny porridge, stale bread and water. _Even here the food is awful. _Annie hummed in agreement. In the end, she resorted to tracing patterns in her bowl using her spoon until she was interrupted.

"This seat occupied?" Annie looked up from her bowl to see a rather short woman looking down on her, she had shaggy mouse blond and her eyes were a striking silver colour that were behind her securely fastened glasses.

Annie shook her head and gestured to the seat on the other side of the table.

"Thanks." The woman said to which Annie simply nodded. "You don't talk much do you?"

"I'm not particularly talkative." Annie huffed.

"As I can see." With that, Annie and this newcomer ate their food in silence. In fact, if it weren't for the bustling sound soldiers queuing, eating and generally making noise the entire canteen would have been perfectly silent. Occasionally Annie would glance up from her food to get a better look of the one who had disturbed her peace. She was wearing a military jacket and on the shoulder was the emblem of the two roses, the roses that signified the Garrison. Annie considered asking who she was but decided against it. After a while, the soldier finished her meal and stood from the table. "Well it was lovely talking to you but I have to be going," She paused and turned away from Annie. "I'll see you in the courtroom." Annie simply hummed with agreement and with that the women was gone, leaving Annie in peace.

_Well who was that? _Grief asked.

"How should I know?" Annie said in a hushed voice.

_It doesn't matter, you should be heading off now._ Once again Annie agreed with the snake. She quickly finished off the remainder of her breakfast and hastily made her way out of the mess hall without another word.

_Do you know where the hearing is? _Annie balled her fists as she looked down the length of the corridor. Unsurprisingly, soldiers and other important looking figures were still crowding the hallways, making it near impossible for the much shorter Annie to find the right path. Eventually, after much struggling, Annie saw something out of the corner of her eye - a wooden sign above a huge door frame, through which many people were funneling through. Annie quickly deduced that this was where she was supposed to be and followed them.

After much effort, Annie finally made her way into the courtroom. She was taken back by the sheer beauty of the room: the ceiling was what truly caught her attention. It was decorated with ornate patterns and designs that Annie had never seen in her entire life. Despite the constant buzzing of those that surrounded her, Annie heard someone call her name. She quickly scanned the room and saw a member of the Military Police beckoning her to come. Next to the soldier was Commander Nile Dok, and in his hands were a pile of papers that probably contained the entirety of their case.

Annie quickly made her way to her commander and stood next to the man. "What took you so long?" He hissed under his breath.

"The… canteen was crowded sir." She muttered.

"Whatever. You were almost late. Do you know how that would make me look?" Nile didn't bother trying to hide the anger and frustration in his voice.

"No sir." Annie was biting her tongue. As she swallowed the curses in her throat, she could even hear Grief laughing hysterically.

"I thought not." He grunted. After that, they remained in a thick silence until the main doors flew open.

* * *

_ahh the man of the hour! _Grief hissed savagely.

Annie sharply turned her head to get a view of who was walking through the giant door. She knew who it was, of course - but that didn't stop her from wanting to see.

Eren Jaeger was walking with an expression of sheer disbelief, his olive green eyes frantically darting over all the faces in the room. When his gaze settled on Annie, she quickly looked down and away from his hopeful expression.

Behind him were two members of the Military Police. Both had muskets pointed at his spine. One jabbed the barrel of his gun into his back forcing him forward, Eren shot him a look of anger and glared at him before the soldier trained his gun on the center of his head causing Eren to begrudgingly walk towards a large clearing in the room.

Eren was lead to the center of the room where he was ordered to get on his knees. Eren did as he was told. The moment he came to his knees, a large metal pole was put between Eren's back and his cuffed arms to stop him from moving. Eren momentarily struggled against his binds but quickly abandoned his pointless resistance.

Annie took a moment to look around at the other important figures that attended the hearing. Opposite the Military Police were the Survey Corps headed by Commander Erwin Smith, next to him was the short man with ebony black hair and vacant, empty eyes. Next to them were the members representing the Garrison, including the woman from the canteen as well as Commander Pixis. The entire room was alive with noise as the final preparations were made for the arrival of the Commander in Chief.

All at once the hustle and bustle disappeared as Darius Zackly strode into the room and took his seat above everyone else. _Aaahh the _second_ man of the hour is finally here! _Grief hissed gleefully.

"Shut up." Annie ordered, to which Nile elbowed her sharply to silence her.

"Well then… let us begin?" Annie was slightly intimidated by the authoritative aura Darius seemed to emit. "Eren Jaeger, yes?" The man paid no attention to anyone else in the entire room. Annie couldn't help but looking at him with a slight sense of awe. His hair was a grey as a morning fog and it tumbled down his face forming a opal grey bead. "You're a soldier sworn to sacrifice your life for the public good, correct?"

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, Eren looked up at Darius and answered. "Yes, sir." Eren tried to sound as confident as possible.

"Good..." Darius looked at the papers in front of him and hummed in confirmation. "This is an exceptional case I must say. As you know this is a military tribunal meaning that the final decision rests entirely in my hands." His steel gaze never left the restrained boy. "Do you understand?" He added.

"Yes, sir." Eren answered weakly. Annie could see the sheer worry gleaming in both Eren's and Mikasa's eyes.

"As you can expect keeping your… _abilities_ secret has proven impossible. We must give some sort of public statement to avoid panic." He explained. "What I will decide today is what force will have custody of you." He paused to gesture to Nile Dok. "The Military Police." Then to Erwin Smith. "Or the Survey Corps." Darius adjusted the glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose before continuing. "So I ask the Military Police for their case."

Nile cleared his throat and took a couple of steps forward. "After a thorough investigation of Eren's body, we believe he should be eliminated immediately." Annie could see that across the room Mikasa had visibly tensed at the sound of these words.

"Oh? And why should he be 'eliminated'." Darius stroked his beard.

"After the battle of Trost I had one of my soldiers extract information about Eren's powers. She will now present her findings." With that, Nile stepped back and gestured Annie to take a step forward.

Annie saluted to the commander. It was taking all of her willpower to not meet Eren's piercing gaze. "Annie Leonhart, Military Police Stohess branch."

Darius stared at her for a moment before nodding in approval. "You may present your findings."

Annie took a deep breath to silence her snakes before going on. "After questioning Eren I believe that I have recovered enough information about his abilities to conclude that he is threat to humanity." _This is going well. _Annie bit her tongue at the sound of Desire slithering out of the shadows. "I-It seems that by inflicting an injury on himself Eren can create and to an extent control a Titan body." She took a moment to take breath.

"And what do you mean by 'to an extent'?" Darius asked.

"While Eren's memory is unreliable..." She paused long enough to see Eren scowling at her. "It seems that he transformed three times during the battle of Trost. After transforming for the third time he immediately attacked Mikasa Ackerman three times." Annie's eyes scanned to room until they settled on the raven haired girl.

"Is Mikasa Ackerman present?" Darius raised his voice.

Mikasa raised her hand. "Yes, sir."

"Is this true? Did Eren Jaeger attack you?" He questioned.

Mikasa looked at Eren and incisively covered the scar on her cheek, she wanted to lie more than anything and tell them that these accusations are false, Mikasa even considered it when she felt someone dig their elbow into her side. "...Yes sir. But on two other occasions, Eren saved my life as a Titan. I wish for these facts to be considered as well." With that, Mikasa went quiet. At that very moment, however, Nile Dok stepped forward, papers in hand.

"I object!" Nile barked in a raised voice. "I believe these comments are greatly influenced by her personal feelings for Jaeger. At an early age Mikasa Ackerman tragically lost her parents and was taken in by the his family." He took a moment to make sure he had everyone's attention, he didn't however have Annie's attention she was instead staring at Eren with all the frustration she could muster, seeing him there with this look of confused and unguided determination on his face was maddening. _If you hate him so much then just kill him. _Desire whispered. Annie responded by clenching her fists so tight that any more pressure would likely break her skin.

"Our detailed investigation also revealed a surprising fact about the events that lead to her adoption. At age nine both Eren and Mikasa killed three robbers." Nile paused to let the gravity of his words sink in. "Their actions were justified as self-defence, yet it raises questions about their fundamental humanity." Annie couldn't help but stare at her commander as the words left his lips, during their time together Annie had never once asked about how Mikasa came to be Eren's adoptive sister. In fact she avoided talking about her whenever she could.

There was a sudden roar as government officials and religious zealots yelled at each other from across the room; Annie could also hear that Eren shouted how Mikasa had nothing to do with his 'situation'. Annie suddenly felt her heart rise in her chest: something about seeing Eren struggle against his shackles while defending those with everything he had was making her heart flutter. _And you try to say you don't care for him. _Desire huffed but Annie couldn't bring herself to reply.

"Stand ready!" Nile ordered; a soldier next to him fumbled with his rifle, aiming it directly at Eren's head. _If you don't do something now, he could die. _Annie knew that Eren was essential to her being able to go home but there was something else. Some other reason for wanting to save the boy the broke her.

A loud cracking sound silenced the bickering. The shuddering noise was quickly followed by the quiet 'pitter pattering''. Annie had to fight the urge to let her jaw hit the floor. The short man with sharp eyes that Annie had seen a couple of days ago had leaped over the stand and with all his surprising strength kick Eren's lower jaw. Annie was fairly certain that the sound she had heard was the sound of his jaw breaking and a tooth skating across the floor.

_Aahh you remember who that is now. _Grief was right, it took a while but Annie had figured out who the man that was currently smashing Eren's head into the floor was. "Captain Levi..." She whispered. Annie reluctantly tore her gaze from the bloodied boy. From across the room she could see that Armin was having to hold Mikasa back with all his strength. Mikasa's expression was a violent mixture of sheer disbelief and cataclysmic violence.

Annie herself was struggling to stay and watch this brutal punishment. But she was stuck. if Annie left or interviened at all then suddenly all prying eyes would be on her and Annie couldn't risk being caught this late in the game. Annie Leonhart was being forced to watch as humanity's strongest soldier beat Eren over and over again. By the time Levi was done there was a rapidly expanding pool of blood appearing around Eren's broken body.

"I believe pain to be the most effective punishment." Annie was shocked by the deepness and gravel of his voice. Annie physically recoiled when Levi kicked Eren's bloodied head six times in succession. Eren was seething with rage, his teeth were gritted and his breathing was heavy. _Are you just going to leave? _ Annie was seriously thinking about it, she was biting her tongue so hard that she could taste the coppery blood that trickled from her wounds. "Sir." Annie growled. "Permission to leave… Sir." Her fists were clenched so tight that it physically hurt, yet her azure blue eyes never left Eren's heaving body.

Nile was also gawking at the act of seemingly meaning cruelty. "G-granted." His worried eyes never left Erwin's unyielding expression of satisfaction. Annie silently thanked her commander before turning on her heels and walking out the room without a second glance, as she shut the great door behind her she heard Darius Zackly give his final verdict.

"Eren Jaeger is placed in the care of the Survey Corps."

* * *

Annie walked straight from the courtroom to her quarters without stopping to talk to anyone. _That escalated quickly. _Grief hummed. _I thought the short bastard was going to kill him. _Desire added jokily. "Shut up both of you!" Annie barked. _Oohh... does the thought of Eren dying frighten you? _Grief jested. "I told you to shut up!" With that Annie struck her fists against her temples. Due to Annie struggling to control her snakes she didn't notice that she was being followed by a certain red scarfed girl.

When she made it back to her room, she effortlessly threw the door open and sluggishly walked inside. Annie simply fell on her bed in an attempt to hide from her serpents when she felt something shift in her bed. Something that shouldn't be there.

Her pillow felt more rigid in places and it made a sound as if there was a sheet of paper under it. Annie sat back on her bed and lifted her pillow. Tossing it aside without looking, Annie noticed a letter sitting underneath the soft fabric. Written on the paper was her name. Annie picked up the letter and roughly opened it.

_Survey Corps expedition month from now. _

_Leaving from Karanes._

_Target on right flank._

_Burn once read._

_R_

_Oohh that is interesting! _Hope shouted, Annie gritted her teeth as she read each and every word, after memorizing the contents of the letter Annie brought a lit candle to it. She watched as the orange flames devoured the paper, erasing the words that if read by anyone else would most certainly raise suspicions. Just as the last embers danced off into the air there was a loud knocking noise on her door and Annie felt her blood turn to ice in her veins. _Who could that be? _Grief pondered. Annie slowly put her pillow back on her bed and made her way to her door. She took a deep breath before opening it and the moment Annie did, she wished she hadn't.

Mikasa Ackerman was standing in her doorway. Once again Annie found it near impossible to read her expression. She went to shut the door in her face when Mikasa blocked the door with her foot. Annie had to fight the anger that had risen in her throat. "What do you want?" She hissed.

"What happened to Eren in there was your fault." Mikasa said in a voice just as dark as her ebony black hair.

"If anything, it was his own fault. If he'd been able to control himself and not try to turn you into a messy pulp, then he wouldn't be in a sticky steamy puddle without one of his teeth would he?" Annie made sure that her voice was thick with sarcasm and piercing ice.

"Your 'findings' didn't help." Mikasa retorted.

"Well unlike you, I'm not willing to throw my life away for the guy." Annie answered quickly.

"Go back a few years and I think you might have. You see, Annie." Something about the way she was talking made Annie feel very, very uncomfortable. "You've been slipping recently: first your little breakdown in Trost, then the way you left Eren on the Wall. Let's not forget how you kissed Bertolt seemingly out of nowhere. You are broken Annie."

"Don't try to sound all clever like you know me." Even the snakes were shocked by the venom in Mikasa's tone.

Mikasa seemingly took no notice of Annie's words as she began her next verbal attack. "You used to be the 'Ice Queen of the 104th' and now, because of Eren… well you've fallen, and it seems you still are." Mikasa said as her keen sense of smell picked up the scent of ash. "And I am going to enjoy watching you fall apart." At this point, Annie found that she was fighting the tears threatening to fall down her pale cheeks. "Eren is worth a hundred of you: he is passionate, driven, he looks out for his friends and he would die for them! Can you say the same?" Mikasa's voice suddenly increased in volume.

"He already did." Annie mumbled.

"What?"

"Eren already died in Trost, that's the way I see it." Annie said with more authority.

Mikasa took her foot out from the door. "I see, so that is how you deal with it." With that, Mikasa started to walk away, when Annie stopped her.

"You know… you were right about one thing. Back in training, you told me I didn't care for Er-him...You were right, I never did, not once." Annie voice suddenly found it's signature poison and ice. Mikasa only stopped for a moment. "I also said that I swore to protect him from all those that would harm him and now I can." With that Mikasa walked down the corridor without another word.

Annie quickly shut and locked her door, she closed her curtains and sat down against the wall. _Well that was unexpected. _Grief said after a few minutes of much appreciated silence.

_Come on Ann, you only have to wait a month until you can go home. _The words that spilled from Hope's metaphorical lips silenced every other thought in her head. "A month." She repeated.

Somewhere deep in her core, Hope had ignited a tiny new born ember… an ember that would soon grow into an all consuming and uncontrollably desperate inferno.

"A month." She said once again with a wicked smile as crystal like tears cascaded down her snow white cheeks.


	20. Among the Giant Trees

**Hello hello once again. well...chapter 20 that is just nuts, I originally planned to end this story at chapter 20 but now this thing is only half-way done...Here's to another 20 chapters! **

**As usual please leave a review or PM with any ideas on how I could improve this for you or just PM me if you wanna chat. **

**I'm going away on holiday for nine days and I won't have internet connection so if I don't reply to any reviews or messages it is not me being rude. **

**Enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at number 21! **

* * *

_One month, Annie... then you can go home. Home, Annie, to your father...and her. _Annie was quickly learning how dangerous Hope can be.

*One month later*

Annie stood upon the lip of Wall Rose, gazing as the sun steadily climbed into the pale blue sky. She had spent the past month meticulously planning her every move. Despite the violent nature of her mission, Annie wanted to avoid as many deaths as possible.

_So...are you ready, Ann? _Grief asked with a hint of smugness.

After a moment's silence Annie gave her answer. "Yes."

*Flashback*

"Hitch, I need a favour." Annie was almost as surprised as Hitch as the words left her lips.

"Hang on here...You, Annie Leonhart, need my help?" Even Hitch couldn't hide the disbelief in her eyes.

"Yes that's why I'm asking if you will report me sick tomorrow." Anine huffed as her roommate threw her clothes into a filthy pile on the floor.

"Why want to play hooky?" Hitch joked as she wrapped a towel around her bare body.

"Something like that...it's personal business." Annie couldn't maintain her icy glare.

"Ooohh you're going to see that tall boy again." Hitch gave Annie a suggestive wink.

"Whatever, will you do it or not?" Annie was becoming more and more frustrated.

"Fine fine." Hitch shrugged. "But you'll have to do something for me in return."

*End flashback*

_You spent all day looking for that brat! This had better be worth it. _Desire huffed.

"Shut up! After today I can go home so just be quiet for once!" Annie shouted with such authority that both Desire and Grief retreated. Annie sighed and looked out to the horizon once again. "Right side of formation." Annie repeated to herself, however she couldn't hide the worry in her voice. During the tribunal she had seen a glimpse of Captain Levi's ability to inflict pain on someone else and now he would be standing between her and Eren.

It had been five long years since Annie had transformed and Annie was now about to be engulfed in a cocoon of hot, sticky flesh that threatened to destroy her mind. The thought of shifting was revolting. In fact every time that Annie shifted she felt more and more disgusted with herself.

It had been a long journey from Stohess to the monolithic structure that is Wall Rose, and Annie had invested too many resources to pull out now. Annie threw her stolen Survey Corps cloak over her body and readied her fully supplied maneuvering gear. "This is it Annie...Just focus and you can leave this place forever."

With that, Annie rushed forward and leapt from the Wall. As she fell the fifty meters she brought her hand to her waiting mouth but just as Annie was about to clamp her teeth down Hope spread its luminous wings and another thought occupied her mind along with capturing Eren.

_What if they try to stop you?_

Energy surged through every single one of Annie's cells as a bolt of yellow lightning erupted from her body. She closed her eyes as a shell of flesh and bone constructed itself around her frame. By the time Annie hit the bottom of the Wall, her body was safely encased in the beautiful body of the soon to be infamous 'Female Titan.'

Annie exhaled from inside the darkness of her new body, the air was hot and thick but Annie quickly adjusted to it. Then Annie tried to open her eyes, at first she found a small amount of resistance from the strings of tissue that bound her face and head but after a few seconds of struggling blinding light suddenly flooded into her vision as her giant azure eyes shot open. Annie inspected her skinless body for any signs of damage from the fall, satisfied with her body she stood to her full height and took off at full speed towards the soldiers of the 57 expedition.

Towards Eren Jaeger.

As she ran Annie made sure that the only thought that was in her mind was the thought of finding and capturing Eren; however, no matter how hard she tried Annie could shake the words that Hope implanted into her. _What if they try to stop you? _From inside her Titan Annie found it impossible to think of anything else. "Need. To. Stop. Them." Annie huffed into the the flesh of her body. In her five years without a full shift Annie had forgotten how physically draining sprinting in her fourteen meter tall body was.

Far off into the distance, Annie's sharp eyes could pick out several large shapes on the horizon. Each one was a slightly different size from the other; Annie quickly determined that they were Titans that were aimlessly wandering around the territory of the walls. "Use. Them" Annie said as she strained against the thews of flesh. She changed her course and ran straight towards the herd of savage beasts. As she approached the Titans one of them, a twelve meter class with no hair and sunken grey eyes, turned on its misshapen heels and bolted straight for Annie with its tree trunk like arms reaching out for her.

Annie dug her feet into the ground and she came to a complete stop. "Use. Them." She repeated to herself. Annie locked her eyes on the Titan that was approaching, it was roughly a hundred meters away, Annie opened her mouth...and she screamed.

Her scream shook the very earth beneath her feet. The moment her cries reached the Titan's ears they all stopped moving in their tracks. For a terrifyingly long second nothing happened, it seemed that the entire world had stopped moving in fear of her deafening wails. Then, as soon as it started, it finished. The perpetual trance that Annie had placed was suddenly shattered and all the Titan she could and couldn't see started to head towards at break neck speeds. "Follow." She wheezed.

Annie Leonhart was no on crash course with the right flank of the Survey Corps formation with an army of hungry Titans right behind her.

After running for nearly half an hour, something caught Annie's ears. She couldn't stop smiling from underneath the many layers of muscle tissue. It was the sound of horse shoes against the ground, and at the sight of a red pillar of smoke rising into the sky, Annie was sure that she had found the right flank of the Survey Corps.

Ten more minutes of high speed running and using her keen eyesight Annie could make out a single dark speck in the far distance. "Found. Them." Annie whispered.

The first signal that she had been detected was a blue smoke round that the most certainly terrified soldier followed quickly by a dirty black column signalling an abnormal Titan. Oh how wrong they were.

The army of Titans crashed into the formation like a hurricane. Instantly, their ranks were crushed as soldier after soldier panicked in the face of this veritable wave of death. Those that didn't flee in terror turned and fought with everything they had and while their bravery and skill was admirable they were mere bugs in the face of the sheer number of Titans at Annie's command. In fact Annie didn't have to lay a gigantic finger on the soldiers before her. "Not. Here." Annie growled, she was right, if Eren were among these soldiers then he probably if not certainly would have shifted and fought, furthermore Annie was sure that Captain Levi was guarding the boy as well. There was no way he was on the right flank.

Knowing that her information was wrong Annie pushed deeper into the formation, without her hunting pack of Titans.

Now matter how many faced her Annie always crushed her attackers under her feet. It didn't matter what they tried or how many there were not a single one of them could land any sort of attack on her body. _They are trying to stop me. _Every time Annie took a life these words flashed through her head, but no time were they louder than when she was holding a young man who had tried to cut her spine by his cables. Through her crystal like irises Annie smiled at him with pure sadistic hatred. _He wants to stop you. _With that, Annie used her titanic strength to twirl the poor man around as if he were a conker on a string. At one point Annie was fairly certain that she heard his spine snap, just like a dry leaf under her boot.

She looked down to see a soldier on horseback, his eyes wide with blatant fear. Annie let go of her current victim, sending flying through the air with a trail of blood and wire behind him. Annie watched as the soldier made a desperate bid for escape. Even by jogging Annie caught up to him in a matter of seconds. She brought one of her giant legs around to the side of his horse and in one fluid movement she sent both the man and animal flying almost forty meters in the air.

Wherever the female Titan went she left a trail of gore and death in her wake. However, it didn't matter how many she faced or how many she killed Annie couldn't find Eren in this broken mass of soldiers. Annie came to a full stop and examined her surroundings, nothing. Nothing at all. The only things she could see were the broken corpses of those that had been foolish enough to fight her and the vast and empty expansiveness of the land around her.

"Where. Is. He?" Annie yelled from her dark shell. She could feel her muscles vibrate with fury, Annie knew it would only be a matter of time until she lost the formation and then her mission would be over.

Annie was running out of options. She had hoped that by using an army of Titans she could flush Eren out of hiding but despite her best efforts nothing seemed to work: to make matters worse, Annie's real body was starting to show signs of strain of a prolonged transformation; her memories were starting to blur and cracks were forming in her ability to control her body,. She felt lethargic and her reaction time was starting to slow.

Suddenly she heard a loud bang appear from behind her - the sound of a smoke signal. Annie craned her giant head back and saw that the body of the flare had left behind a brilliant blue trail of dirty smoke. _Not him, keep going._ Annie thought to herself. Despite her drive to carry one she couldn't shake the feeling that they were going to attack her. "Maybe." Annie sighed as she prepared for another attack. "It. Could. Be. Him."

It wasn't.

A matter of minutes later, Annie was staring into the steaming mess of flesh that had been her palm. Annie groaned from her giant body as her muscle began knitting back together, she turned back momentarily to see Armin, Jean and Reiner running away with everything they had. During the encounter Reiner had attempted to strike her neck but it ended in her catching him mid-flight. Annie took a moment to memorize the words that had been carved into her hand. "Center. Rear."

That's exactly where she went.

With her new directions Annie ran as fast as possible, determined not to waste this new information she didn't let anything or anyone stop her. _Focus Annie, one foot in front of the other. _Annie told herself over and over again. "Are. They. In. There?" Annie's eyes were focused on a rising ridge of trees over seventy meters tall. "Forest. Of. Giant. Trees." Annie said with a hint of worry, large trees were the perfect environment for 3D maneuvering gear.

Annie saw the last of the supply column enter the dense city of trees. "There. He. Is." Annie had found him at long last, she made a sharp turn on her heels and sprinted into the woods after her target. Annie was immediately thankful for the cover that tree provided: one of the many, many disadvantages of being in control of a Titan body is that it gets very, very hot inside of the neck, so the shade provided by the canopy was near blissful.

While weaving between the trees that blocked her way, there were several soldiers waiting for her. These were different from those that she had fought before; they were much more skilled and they seemed to adapt rapidly to the fluidity of her movements. But while their abilities and attacks were impressive to say the least, ultimately they were futile.

"Has. To. Be. Close." Annie growled as she crushed an unfortunate soldier in her palm, even behind the many layers that protected her, Annie shuddered when she heard her body pop like a grape. Behind her Annie could hear the signature sound of metal cables firing into the trees that surrounded her, there were three veterans of the survey corps that were in hot pursuit of the Female Titan.

Once again these fighters demonstrated a much greater understanding of her combat style and thus they were more difficult to defeat; it got to the point where Annie was forced to cover the nape of neck in fear of being attacked directly. However, despite the sounds of her feet pounding against the stone path, and the grotesque noise of bones shattering Annie could hear the sounds of horseshoes ahead of her.

"Right. There." Annie said through gritted teeth as she swiped another soldier from the air in one brutal movement.

"There!" Annie shouted from her bloody cradle. She had finally found him; after hours of searching and countless deaths, Eren Jaeger was riding a mere ten meters in front of her; even her Titan face lit up with malefic happiness as her giant eyes locked onto to the terrified boy. Annie shot out one of her long arms to try and grasp Eren but he was just out of reach. "So. Close." Annie was becoming desperate.

"Reach. Him." Annie was closing the gap between her and Eren. She didn't even pay attention to the members of squad Levi that were desperately begging their captain for orders. Eren's lush green eyes were wide and his gaze was centered on the beast behind him. "Close. Distance." Annie's gave one final burst of speed and her body accelerated at a frightening rate. She was going to make it. She was going to reach him. She was about to clamp her hand down around his body.

She was too late.

"FIRE!" The world around Annie's Titan erupted into a storm of hundreds of deafening explosions that was immediately followed sharp stinging sensations that pierced her entire body. Annie's speed died with her hopes of catching Eren, her eyes watched longingly as he rode through the thick smog kicked up by the shockwaves released upon detonation.

"Get. Free." Annie groaned as her body struggled against the barb like harpoons. Pulling against the tendons of flesh around her Annie could sense that there was severe damage to the tendons in her legs. "Repair." She ordered, Annie shuddered as the torn muscle regrew around the intruding metal stinger, it didn't take long for Annie to realise how bad of an idea this was; Annie suddenly found her ability to move was reduced even further as her own body became even more of a prison. Annie was silently glad that in the moment before her chase ended in a flash of fire and noise she covered the nape of her neck with both hands.

Annie was trapped.

With each passing second Eren was riding further and further away from her. "Nothing. I. Can Do." Annie yelled into her fleshy prison. All around her soldiers were frantically running about, leaping from tree to tree. Annie knew it wouldn't be long until they tried to force her out of her body; while it pained her to reveal her secret and unique ability she knew that there was no other way.

The first attack came in the form of Captain Levi and the tall man from the day of the tribunal. Both of them fired their cables into nearby trees and with all their might they launched themselves at Annie's hands.

In the instant before their razor sharp blades sliced through her hands Annie gritted her teeth as a thin layer of of crystal encased her hands and wrists. The blades of Levi and the other man instantly shattered upon impact with her hardened skin, sparkling dust of the broken razors flew off into the air as the Levi landed squarely on her head.

"Hey...Why not just come out?" Levi's voice echoed through the chamber that held her true body. "We don't have time to waste." The venom in his voice reminded Annie of her last encounter with Mikasa. "As I recall, you killed my troops in various ways. Did you find it fun?" Despite the many layers of skin and muscle that protected her Annie felt fear. "Right now, 'm having fun...I think you can understand me." Annie could understand him. Every spine chilling word. "Oh, right...I wanted to ask you something. Is it okay if we cut your hands and legs off?" Annie's stomach flipped as she visualized the gruesome thought. "They'll grow back, right? I'm talking about _your _limbs, not the Titan's. We need you alive...after all." Annie couldn't take it anymore, the pain that this man could inflict with his words alone was bad enough, Annie dreaded to think what he would do if she were to be pulled from her bloody and immobile body.

Annie tilted her head back as far as she could and with every last shred of power she had left Annie screamed louder than ever before.

The trees that surrounded her shook violently as the world around them exploded into a series of ear splitting wails and cries. While it only lasted for a matter of seconds, the effects of her deafening screams would live on for much, much longer.

"Defend the Female Titan to the death!" These were the last words Annie heard before her body was brutally attacked by another tidal wave of ravenous Titans. They crashed into her bound body and immediately they began to devour each and every part of the Titan that they could reach. To Annie it didn't hurt despite the hundreds of teeths that tore at her legs and torso. The number of Titans that flooded the forest grew ever larger, to a point where Titans were crawling over one another to try and gnaw at her body and while the elite of the Survey Corps killed many of the attacking Titans, there were simply too many of them; for every Titan that they killed there were three more to take its place.

The insatiable hunger of the Titans drove them on to deavor and consume the entirety of the Female Titan. Once they reached Annie's chamber she had to move quickly, Annie separated herself from the strings of flesh that bound her, she could hear the sound of claw like nails tearing away the meat that surrounded her. The first of many cracks of light flooded her chamber; forcing Annie to wince as her icy eyes adjusted to the blinding light.

_How are you going to get out of this one then? _Grief hissed, now Annie was separated from her Titan the snakes were ready to come out again.

Annie didn't even respond - she simply prepared her gear and gritted her teeth in the steaming mess that was the Female Titan. The rapidly decomposing remains of her Titan body were now being invaded by much smaller Titan that writhed around the flesh like maggots in a carcase, slowly but surely they were getting closer and closer to her true being.

_Ann… _Even Desire had a hint of concern in its normally obnoxious voice. The heat was quickly becoming unbearable as beads of sweat poured down her forehead and cheeks in individual streams. The instant Annie saw an opening large enough to fit through Annie fired both her cables out of the disintegrating hole, with the press of a trigger Annie launched herself free of her Titan and vanished into the fog of hot steam that made up her spent body.

With the cloak over Annie's head she looked like any other soldier of the Survey Corps, weaving between the trees Annie had to fight the raging headache that always came after she left her body. It soon became too difficult and too painful for Annie to continue using her maneuvering gear. She came to a stop upon a large tree branch and rested her head against the tough bark.

_Now what? Eren must be miles away by now. _Grief huffed.

"I don't kn- ...wait a minute." Annie's eyes widened. "They wouldn't send Eren too far away. They would still need Levi to command him and the others… They can't be too far from here."

Annie gritted her teeth and stood from her perch. Reaching, into her jacket she pulled forth a flare gun and a single green flare. "Levi's squad should respond to this and when they do I can find them...and him." She said with balled fists.

Annie loaded the flare into the launched and held it up into the air, with her free hand she covered an ear and fired.

* * *

Not far away, Eren and the special operations squad noticed a grass green pillar of smoke rising in the distance.

"That must be the captain." Said a man with sharp chocolate brown hair and tanned skin, in return he fired his own flare. The flare that would ultimately lead to his demise.

"There he is..." Annie hissed as she flew off towards Eren.

* * *

"I'LL KILL IT!" The rage in Eren's voice rang out through the entire forest.

After the crushing loss of the famous Levi squad at the giant hands of the Female Titan Eren had surrendered to fury of watching this monster brutally murder Gunther Shucltz, Eld Jinn, Petra Ral and Ouluo Bozado one after another. To Eren it truly did seem as if they could kill the Female Titan, but their initial success was cut short when Annie ripped Eld in half using nothing but her teeth. Annie was glad that the tongue of her Titan was void of taste buds. Using her selectively healed eye she had crushed Petra Ral against a tree using only a single foot; a sickly spike of scarlet blood and viscera shot up the trunk of the tree. In a storm of rage and grief Ouluo took his blades to the nape of her neck. Anticipating his attack Annie layered her one weak point with a thick layer of protective crystal, Annie gave him bearly a moment to acknowledge his defeat before shattering his spine like a twig with a devastating kick.

It had taken Annie a matter of seconds to kill the handpicked best of the Survey Corps. One after another they fell leaving only a hatred fueled Eren left.

As Eren clamped his teeth down on the soft skin of his hand the only thought in his mind was the maddening desire to pulverize the creature before him. As the familiar bolt of lightning shot up into the sky Eren's body was engulfed by his new body. A body made of flesh, bone and unrelenting fury. The moment Eren's transformation was complete he launched an uppercut at her that if it had connected it would have taken Annie's head clean off.

In the moment before his fist connected with her head, Annie sidestepped, her one functioning eye locked on Eren. Annie didn't give him a single second to prepare another attack, she lunged forward and plunged her foot into his abdomen knocking the wind out of his fifteen meter body. Seemingly unphased by the devastating kick Eren threw her leg away and countered with a lighting fast right hook that sent her crashing into a tree.

Annie cursed the members of the Special operations squad, before she crushed them they had unleashed a barrage of attacks; including a two pronged attack on her eyes rendering her blind. In that time Eld, Petra and Ouluo had relentlessly sheared the flesh from her arms as she desperately tried to protect her neck. Annie had focused all her regenerative powers on one eye but as a result her field of view was severely limited.

"Repair. Eye." Annie ordered to herself and immediately steam began to pour out of the crimson hole that used to be her left eye.

Eren didn't intend to let her recover from her grievous wounds, he stated launching jabs and hooks at a startling rate, to Annie however his movements seemed sluggish and predictable meaning that his shots were easy to dodge.

However due to Annie's reduced field of vision Eren did manage to land a single blow to her shoulder, the amount of power in his strike sent Annie flying to the floor. "Need. To. Repair." Annie groaned into her new Titan, she took the opportunity to run and put some distance between Eren and herself. It didn't take long for Eren to close her down as he caught up to the Female Titan in seconds.

This time Annie struggled to weave in and between his blows, eventually one connected with Annie's shoulder sending her sprawling to the forest floor. Instead of letting Annie get to her feet and continuing the fight Eren used his greater size and weight to pin her to the floor by her shoulders.

Eren raised a single fist and brought it down with every ounce of strength he had; Annie simply craned her head to the right. Inside her dark, hot cocoon Annie shuddered at the sound of Eren's elbow snapping due to the sheer power of the impact. However the Rogue Titan seemed as if he hadn't even noticed the gruesome wound. Instead, he raised his uninjured fist and brought it crashing down where Annie's head should have been and once again, she easily avoided the crushing impact that shattered his hand.

With no functioning hands or means of attack Eren was reduced to roaring his signature roar. He wanted nothing more than to see the monster inside of this husk of flesh suffer like no human could imagine, maybe if he knew who was inside his views would change. But he didn't know who was inside so for the moment his only desire, his only wish was for his hands to regrow so that he could tear her limb from limb. So he could obliterate her body and crush her bones to powder.

The rage that Eren felt in his heart was so strong that even behind her thick muscular frame she could feel the overwhelming hatred that was directed solely at her. Annie had to fight back or risk letting Eren becoming a useless feral beast without a purpose.

Just at that moment Annie's missing eye rolled back into its socket and her restricted field of vision suddenly returned to her in blinding light.

She reached out and grabbed on of her hands over one of Eren's arms, his sanity suddenly returned to him all too late. He threw a desperate punch but Annie simply ducked beneath it, she twisted her on her hips to free her legs from this position. Using all her power she kicked his giant body away from her own.

However, by the time she stood from the ground, Eren was already upon her once again. He launched a cataclysmically strong punch that was aimed at her head. Annie barely managed to back away from the strike before it turned her head to a cloud of blood and dust.

Between the storm of jabs and hooks that were detected at her, Annie found her opening. Just as Eren prepared yet another strike Annie layered her fist and forearm with an extra thick layer of crystal and with all her might she connected her fist with Eren's lower jaw. The bones of his jaw exploded into a fine mist of blood and bone shards but to Eren this was nothing but an opportunity. He readied his other fist and drove into Annie's abdomen with such force it launched her over twenty meters into the air.

Even though her human body felt no pain as a result of the strike she could feel the damage he had caused her fake frame, Eren's first had turned her insides into scrambled eggs and rib cage had several worryingly large fractures. "End. This. Now." Annie had decided that this fight had gone on long enough; it wouldn't be long before worried soldiers found her.

As Eren came sprinting after her Annie barely managed to avoid a knee aimed at the center of her face. Time was up - it was now or never; she could almost hear the sound of Captain Levi and Mikasa Ackerman getting closer and closer with every second.

Annie inhaled a breath of hot, sticky air and assumed her normal position as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She raised her hands above her head and stepped one foot back.

Annie felt a pang of guilt as the eyes of Eren's Titan widened in shock and disbelief as Annie brought her leg around in a huge arc, her calf collided with Eren's temple instantly shattering his skull but she didn't stop there.

The power of her kick drove her leg through the entirety of his head, severing it completely. The broken cranium fell to the floor with a sickening squelch, and the rest of his body fell only moments later. Annie didn't waste any time,:she was now certain that the Survey Corps were only seconds away.

Taking Eren's shoulders Annie opened her mouth to such a degree that the skin around the jaw tore like strings of elastic. Using her teeth Annie ripped the flesh from Eren's neck in such a way that didn't harm the pilot inside. Eren's true eyes were void and empty due to the immense fatigue that came with a hasty transformation.

Annie let her eyes rest on the boy for a brief second before devouring him in one lighting fast motion.

''EREN!'' Despite the distance between them Annie could perfectly hear Mikasa's desperate cries.

''Run.'' Annie ordered to her body. And that is what she did.

Without waiting for her injuries to heal, Annie started to sprint in the direction she hoped would lead to the edge of the forest. ''Closer.'' Annie clenched her fists as Mikasa chased after her with ever increasing speed. Annie was faced with two options at this point; continue at a steady pace and hope the forest ends soon, or accelerate to top speed and risk tripping and further exhausting herself.

It was the sight of Levi appearing from the shadows cast by the colossal trees that solidified her decision. ''Faster!'' Annie groaned as her Titan reacted to her words: the Female Titan accelerated like a racehorse out the gate. Both Levi and Mikasa were shocked by the speed Annie possessed.

Only Levi was able to keep up with as Mikasa was left in the dust.

Yet despite his superhuman speed, Levi couldn't help the fact that to his horror… the forest was thinning out. The trees were becoming more spread smaller. Much smaller. To a point where even the Captain was struggling to keep up. ''Almost. Out.'' Annie said with a wicked grin.

Levi gritted his teeth, he was starting to fall behind at an ever increasing rate. He gave his gear a burst of power causing Levi to turn into a blur of razor sharp metal and raven black hair.

His blades were aimed to tear away the vertebrae of her spine but just as the edges of his blades came down on her flesh Annie sidestepped at a speed that almost defied physics.

It was at that moment that the forest of giant trees came to a very abrupt stop. The trees that had allowed the Survey Corps to capture her just ended. While Annie continued to run away towards the horizon Levi was forced to stop on a protruding tree branch. But the lack of favorable terrain didn't stop Mikasa from running after the Female Titan on foot.

''GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!'' She screamed, but Annie showed no sign of stopping as she disappeared into the distance with humanity's last hope.


	21. No more lies

**_Well hello there! Here we are chapter 21! My last chapter got quite a few reviews of people shocked by the ending of my last chapter well now we find out what happened after Annie escaped with Eren as her prisoner (Dramatic music) _**

**_Oh and if you can please read ''Simple joys'' by my friend Takenohime, it converted me to a Levi x Petra shipper!_**

**_So as usual enjoy the chapter and don't forget to leave a review if you could or just PM me if you have any suggestions or questions about how to improve my story. _******

* * *

_Annie...That was Annie's move… _Eren thought he was dreaming. He wanted to dreaming: the last memory he had was that of the Female Titan taking up the position that Annie had taught him. Eren refused to believe the voices that were shouting the painfully obvious truth at him. _It's her! You know it is. Don't lie to yourself. _Eren's thoughts were pulling him in several agonizing directions.

When his consciousness returned to him, the first thing Eren noticed was that he was inside a building. He went to open his mouth to ask where he was but the words wouldn't leave his throat - all that came out was a painful sigh. Giving up on trying to speak, Eren instead started to look around and inspect his surroundings. Immediately, Eren found a throbbing pain in his neck. Whenever he twisted his head, Eren felt a powerful burning sensation coming from the sides of his neck and shoulders.

From his position, Eren could make out that he was lying on his back and looking directly up at the ceiling of whatever building he was in. The ceiling he was staring at was an old and decrepit oaken frame that looked like no one had refurbished in many years. Eren took a long, strong breath in. The air felt thick and musky, causing Eren's face to contort into a grimace of disgust.

_Where the hell am I? _Eren's sunken and weary eyes darted around in every direction, trying desperately to determine his location. As he looked around his surroundings gory images of the Female Titan flashed in front of him. _Did I lose? _Eren's memories of the fight were fractured and jumbled up; he seemed to remember pinning the monster down on the ground and raising his fist to crush it's skull like an egg, but from that point on there was an expansive void in his memories. The only other thing that Eren could remember was the terrifying sight of the Female Titan using Annie's signature kick.

As the moments passed Eren found the feeling gradually return to his body; firstly, he felt a tingling sensation in the tips of his fingers and toes. Then after a few moments Eren felt the strength to ball his fists and a few minutes later Eren could flex his toes and eventually the pain in his throat faded to a dull burning feeling.

''Where am I?'' He croaked to no reply. His breath was heavy but his jaw was set in a stern line of determination. ''Is there anyone there?'' Eren said slightly louder and with more authority but yet again, no reply. He tried to sit up but his body was still weak from the exhaustion that followed a full body transformation.

With his new found strength, Eren lifted his head up and saw that there was a blanket covering his body. It was a muddy brown and dotted in patchy holes; a result of years of neglect and abuse. There was a window about three meters to his right and through the dirty and murky glass Eren could tell that the sun was setting as a warming, orange light shone through the dirt stained glass. ''Hello?'' Eren's mind was racing with questions as his tired voice rang through the cabin. _Where am I? What happened to me? _

''I need to get out of here now.'' He ordered to himself. Eren took a deep breath and with all his dwindling might he forced his body to sit up. Through a thick fog of pain Eren managed to rise from the tarp underneath him. His entire body felt heavy and Eren sighed as he felt his bones creak and relax.

A sudden wave of pain crashed through his head; Eren came tumbling back down to the floor as fireworks of agony blurred his vision. Eren screwed his eyes shut and willed that the maddening fire in his head to subside.

Eren didn't know how many minutes had passed when his storm of a migraine dissipated but when he finally opened his eyes the friendly sunset light of the sun was gone, replaced by a consuming darkness that engulfed the entirety of the room.

Thankfully, now that Eren's headache had passed, almost all his strength had returned in its place. Eren gritted his teeth, balled his fists, and with all his might brought himself to his feet.

The instant Eren stood to his full height he wished that he was still lying on the floor. A cloud of nausea descended on the boy; Eren felt his stomach flip as he attempted to take a single step forward. ''I need to get outside.'' He commanded his battered and damaged body to move in the direction Eren hoped would lead to the doorway.

The floor under his seemingly bare feet was cold and slightly damp. _How did my shoes come off? _This thought made Eren worry even more, and due to the darkness Eren couldn't tell the state of his other clothes, or if he was even wearing them.

After feeling around his chest and legs Eren confirmed that he was still indeed wearing his Survey Corps uniform. _At least I still have my clothes on. _He thanked silently.

A few clumsy steps later and Eren was standing with one hand resting on the handle of what he thought to be the front door of the building. _Time to find out where I am. _With that he hauled the door open and gasped at the sight before him.

There were no clouds in the sky to obstruct the grandeur of the full moon; the ghostly white light that shone down from the shining orb in the sky bathed Eren's surroundings in an almost unnatural glow. Even Eren, the famous loudmouth of the 104th, was lost for words at the staggering beauty of the scenery before him. That was until a single sulking figure passed into his field of view.

''Is that a Titan?'' Eren was right - a few hundred meters away was a lone Titan. Eren guessed that it was at least a ten meter class but that wasn't what bothered him. ''Why is it still moving this late after sunset?'' Eren was right to be worried; it was common knowledge that Titan's became dormant after dark; even the infamous 'abnormals' became drowsy and lethargic once the sun had set.

As he watched the Titan stroll through the stunning night, a deeply troubling thought burst into his mind. ''If there is a Titan here then...where am I?'' From his basic training, Eren knew that Titans came primarily from the south and with the gaping hole in Wall Maria, hundreds, if not thousands, of the carnivorous monsters had flooded the territory between Wall Maria and Rose. ''I must be somewhere between Wall Maria and Rose.''

Eren stayed like that for what felt like hours, his mind racing with potential ideas and plans to escape back to Wall Rose. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a shadowy figure approaching from a nearby forest. In fact he didn't see the new comer until he heard the sound of their boots against the dry ground.

''Who's there?'' Eren called out in a panicked tone.

The approcher sighed and raised a single hand to their temples. ''I didn't plan for you to wake up this soon...'' They said in a voice so terrifyingly familiar that Eren felt an icy dagger pierce his heart.

''A-Annie...Is that you?'' Eren's voice was trembling more than his legs, which threatened to buckle under him at any moment.

At a speed that seemingly defied conventional thought Annie rushed forward in a blur of shadows and before Eren could comprehend what was happening she was already behind him. Annie balled one of her hands into a tight fist and with all her might she brought it crashing down onto the back of Eren's neck; sending him into a paralyzingly black sleep.

* * *

Eren was dreaming, but it didn't feel like the many visions he suffered from in the long years since the loss of his mother. This time it felt like he was having a conversation…with his own shadow.

''Why is Annie here?'' Eren asked.

''I think you know the answer.'' Replied Eren's shadow.

''N-no that is impossible.'' Eren didn't realise his fists were clenched.

''Eren think back to the fight with that Titan.'' These words made Eren shudder. ''It fought..Just like her.''

* * *

''NO!'' Eren jolted upright as if a lightning bolt had been passed through his body. His eyes shot open as he returned from his nightmare. The first thing Eren realised was the blistering heat that roared against his bare skin. His breathing was fast and erratic. ''Wh-what happened?'' Eren wasn't sure who he was directing the question at and he didn't care, all he wanted were answers.

''I guess there is no point lying to you anymore.'' The voice sounded as if were a whisper from a mile away.

Eren's vision was blurred due to the unnatural light that filled the cabin. ''Annie...I know that's you.'' His voice was low, almost animal like.

Eren turned his head to the source of voice and noticed a small fire in the middle of the room, he came to the conclusion that Annie built it while Eren was asleep and standing over the burning flames stood the Female Titan. Stood Annie Leonhart.

Upon hearing his former lover's voice Eren's vision instantly cleared. ''Why are you here?'' Part of Eren's mind chastised him for asking a question with a painfully obvious answer.

''Eren you know the answer to that.'' Her voice was low and tired sounding.

''No I don't.'' Eren's voice was dripping with anger. ''The last thing I remember was fighting the Female Titan.''

''Is that what they call me then.'' Annie scoffed.

''THIS ISN'T A JOKE ANNIE!'' Eren roared.

''Like I said, there is no point in lying to you anymore.'' Annie said with a the tiniest hint of relief.

''There is a chance you are going along with this because of your shitty sense of humor.'' Eren pleaded.

''Do you think so little of me that I would joke about killing all those soldiers?'' Annie jested.

''Just tell me the truth!'' Eren ordered.

''You want the truth? Well I want promises.'' Annie replied instantly. ''I can give you _some _information but in return I need you to promise me something.'' She added quickly.

''What do I need to promise?'' Eren asked with a raised eyebrow.

''That you will come with me with no resistance.'' Annie said with baited breath.

''Come with you where?'' Eren asked.

''To my hometown.''

''What does your hometown have to do with anything?'' The frustration in Eren's voice was all too clear.

''I can't tell you just yet.'' Annie sighed. ''What I can tell you is that I am the Female Titan and that you need to come with me right now.''

''If you were the...Female Titan.'' Eren spat. ''Then why would you tell me this?''

''Because there is no longer a point in lying to you.'' Annie explained.

Eren snorted and laughed. ''I don't believe any of this.''

''For God's sake Eren! Use your brain for once.'' Annie was growing impatient. ''You know it's me!'' Eren visibly winced. ''You wake up after losing a fight to a Titan shifter in a broken down old cabin miles from human civilization and the only other person here is me. You're not that stupid - just put two and two together.'' With every word Eren's face became more and more contorted with pain and denial.

''Stop it.'' Eren growled.

''You just don't want to accept it!'' Annie paused to ready her sharpest knife. ''I killed all those soldiers, I killed the special operations squad, all of them! And I knew what I was doing believe me I do, I knew who they were. Ouluo, Eld, Gunther and Petra all of them dead because of me!'' By the time Annie had finished her shoulders were heaving and her breathing was heavy.

''Stop it stop it stop it!'' Eren yelled and in that moment he thought back to the final moments of his duel with the Female Titan.

*flashback*

Despite the fact that his lower jaw had been obliterated the Berserk Titan rushed forward to meet his opponent. Charging at a ludicrous speed Eren's Titan launched one of its knees to where the Female Titan was lying but in the last moment, in the last instant before his bone crushed her seemingly ill fated skull, the Female Titan dodged to the side in a single fluid motion.

Taking a moment to weigh up her options the Female Titan came to a single and irreversible decision. ''End. This.'' Ordered the pilot of the Titan. The beautiful yet deadly body of the Female Titan turned to face her target. She raised her fists and stepped her right foot back slightly.

From inside the hulking mass of muscle housing Eren Jaeger, he watched with utter horror and disbelief as the Female Titan, the monster he vowed to destroy and pulverize, the monster he swore to hunt to the ends of the Earth, took the fighting stance of the girl he loved.

He had only time to say one word before his head was sheared from his body. ''Annie?''

*end flashback*

''It can't be...I refuse to believe it...'' Eren's eyes were sealed shut and his palms were drumming at his temples.

''I can answer all your questions but only if you accept this!'' Annie called out.

Eren looked up at her with a blazing inferno of pure hate in his tear filled eyes. ''I'll kill you!''

Realising what Eren was about to do Annie bolted for the door, just as she pulled the rotted wooden door open Eren clamped his teeth down on the soft flesh of his hand sending the world around them into a fog of burning hot steam.

* * *

Annie opened her eyes to see only darkness, she had expected Eren to do something drastic like attack her or scream at her but she didn't expect him to shift in his state. She didn't think it would be possible for him to shift in his state.

_He is stronger than you think. _Greif reminded.

''You don't need to tell me that.'' Annie coughed.

_Apparently I do._ Greif hiss gleefully.

Annie moaned as she threw a large piece of splintered wood from her body. ''I guess this saved my li-'' Annie cried out in pain as she stood up. Looking down at her leg she saw what had caused the immense agony.

A large stake of wood was sticking out of her leg that was bent at an unnatural and grotesque angle. Scarlett red blood was steadily trickling out of her calf.

''This is going to have to come out.'' Annie joked through a dense smog of pain. Annie gritted her teeth and balled her free hand into her shirt before taking the jagged spike of wood with one hand, using all her might Annie tore the object from her leg with a sickening sound as the shards of wood pulled and tore at her muscles.

Once the intruding object had been removed Annie closed her azure eyes and focused all of her thoughts on healing her gruesome wound. As a thin pillar of steam rose from her leg, Annie felt the new bone appear in the cracks made by the explosion. It burned at first just like every time she was forced to heal a broken bone or a torn tendon, but over the years Annie had grown to live with the discomfort.

As her skin knitted back together and the trickle of blood was reduced to an occasional drip Annie stood from the pool of crimson gore that surrounded her. Immediately she started to scan the area around for signs of Eren's Titan.

''Even if he shifted there is no way he could make a fully working body the way he is.'' Annie reminded herself.

It didn't take her long to find the pathetic excuse for a Titan that Eren had hastily made in his fit of unfocused rage.

The Titan that Eren had created was barely 10 meters long but that wasn't what shocked Annie. Below the waist Annie expected to see the legs that would hold his giant frame up but instead...there was nothing. Where the strong, powerful legs should have been there was a tangled mess of internal organs. The arms that were once used as a brutal weapon against her were now useless twigs of brittle bone and torn skin, aside from the absence of legs and the weakness of his arms not all of Eren's true body had been enveloped by his Titan frame.

Only his head had been encased by a shell of flesh, the rest of his body was hanging limply from the neck of his failed creation.

''I've never seen such a...failed shift.'' Annie sighed as she climbed up the motionless body. As she made her way towards the exposed pilot Annie noticed just how hot his Titan was, steam was billowing out of several areas of exposed muscle tissue like an active geyser.

_Better get him out of there before he burns to death. _Greif suggested.

''Didn't I tell you that it would take more than hot air to kill Eren.'' Annie scoffed as she approached the boy.

_Oh so you care for the child. _Desire hissed from the shadows.

''Don't start!'' Annie ordered.

After that the snakes remained mostly silent, apart from Hope who continuously urged Annie to work harder and move faster.

It took Annie much longer than she expected to pull Eren from his rapidly decomposing flesh; she was slightly concerned by how reluctant the Titan was to let go of Eren's head. ''If he tries shifting again once he wakes up he could become one of the Feral Titans.'' Annie said as she separated the last few thews of flesh that clung desperately to Eren.

Once Eren was free from his Titan Annie sat against a deformed tree stump and sighed. ''Now I have to wait until he wakes up again.''

_He is going to try and kill you again when he wakes up. _Grief.

''I think I know how I can convince him to follow me.'' Annie said with balled fists. ''Eren wants answers...well I can give them to him.''

_Well first things first, you need to find some shelter. Look over there. _In the not too far distance the Titan that Eren had seen earlier was making strolling towards them at a steady pace.

''Where there is one there are more.'' Annie said through gritted teeth.

She was right. Not far behind the ten meter Titan there was a small herd of the beasts that were following their one and only instinct...To feed.

''According to the map of the Walls I stole there should be an abandoned Iceburst stone caldera around here.'' Annie said as she rubbed her temples. She scanned the area around in hope of finding some evidence of the elusive mine shaft. Unfortunately due to the darkness it was impossible for Annie to see anything more that a few meters in front of her.

''I can't see anything in this dark.'' Annie huffed. As these words left her lips the full moon emerged from behind a veil of thick clouds, bathing the entire area in a ghostly and eerie light. With this new found light Annie could see for miles in every direction and while it highlighted the ever increasing number of Titans that were making their way towards them it also showed Annie the entrance to the entrance of the mine shaft. ''There!''

Previously hidden by the cloak of night was a series of mountains, at the bottom of which was a small wooden structure. ''That's the way into the mine.'' Annie said as she picked up Eren's limp body from his nearly fully decomposed Titan.

It took Annie a painfully long time to drag Eren the distance from the shattered remains of their cabin to the entrance of the mine. Annie moved as quickly as she could to make sure that Eren would only wake up in the safety of the mountainside. The door was rusted shut but after a few sharp kicks Annie managed to break through to the lifeless mine.

* * *

''ANNIE!'' Eren's remaining eye shot open as he conciseness suddenly returned to him. ''W-what happened to me?'' Eren didn't expect an answer.

''You tried to shift but you failed.'' Annie huffed from behind the small fire she built.

''Why can't I see properly?'' Eren growled.

''When I pulled you out your body got...stuck, when I finally got you out one of your eyes was gone.'' Annie explained.

Eren replied by raising his hand to his open mouth. His eye ablaze with rage that was aimed solely at her. He was about to bring his teeth down on his skin when Annie's voice rang through the cave.

''EREN...Look around you. Do you have any idea where we are? No? I didn't think so, well we are under a mountain.''

''Why should I believe you?'' Eren spat.

''Look around you.'' Annie ordered.

Eren slowly and reluctantly craned his head up as his single eye scanned over the walls of the mine shaft. ''Why did you drag me in here?'' Eren asked.

''So I could talk to you without you blowing up.'' Annie retorted.

''I want nothing to do with you ever again!'' Eren roared.

With that, an uneasy silence fell upon the two of them. Grief had to stifle a laugh at the irony of the situation: a few days ago it was Annie who demanding that Eren never talk to her again, and now... Now it was Eren who was threatening to kill her.

_Oh this is rich… _Grief giggled maniacally.

''You promised me answers. Start talking, where is your homeland?'' Eren's eyes were firmly locked on Annie.

''Beyond the Walls...Far beyond the Walls.'' It felt so counter intuitive to talk to anyone about the location of her home.

''How do I get there?'' Eren's face was a mix of determination and unequivocal anger.

''...There is a large forest far to the South West of Wall Maria. Beyond that is somewhere my people call lake Ada-'' Annie never had a chance to finish.

''Your people! Who are they?'' Eren was trying and failing to rein in his temper.

''We come from a village far away.'' Annie was staring into the flames.

''Are they all… like you?'' Eren's fists were trembling at the thought.

''No...not all of us are shifters.'' Eren swore that he saw Annie's eyes water up slightly.

''Why did you take me?'' Eren was astounded by how much information Annie was giving him.

''I can only tell you if you promise to come with me.'' This time Annie looked right at him.''I can't tell you anymore unless you promise me.''

''You're in no place to make demands!'' Eren's new eyes filled his empty socket as light flooded his vision.

''I think I am.'' She paused. ''You can't shift again, your powers aren't as convenient as you think.''

''Why would I believe you?'' Eren was already raising his hand to him mouth.

''Because unlike you I actually know how to use my powers.'' Annie protested. ''If you shifted now you would likely kill yourself and me.''

''Sounds tempting.'' Eren scoffed.

''You kept on going on about how much you wanted to kill the Titans, I know more about them then any mad Survey Corps scientist.'' Eren let his hand drop back to his side.

''Like what? I don't care if you can't tell me, I need some reason to even consider coming with you.'' Eren sat back down against the wall of the mine.

''I know where they are coming from. I know why they eat people...I know how to stop them and...'' Annie's voice trailed off.

''And what?'' Eren pried.

_If you want him to come along the best way is to tell him who they are. _Both Hope and Grief agreed on this point.

''And I know who the Armoured and Colossal Titans are.'' Annie said reluctantly.

''YOU DO! WHO ARE THEY?'' Eren yelled as if an electric current had been passed through his body.

''Promise me.'' Annie said calmly.

''I promise.'' Eren growled.

Eren went oddly silent at the prospect of finally learning the identity of the ones responsible for the deaths of over a quarter of a million people; the one who broke down the outer gate with a single foot, the one who crushed Eren's house with a piece of the wall that was built with the very purpose to protect them...The one who lead to the death of his Mother.

When he was ready to talk he spoke in a low and almost animal like tone, he only asked a single question with a single word.

''Who?''

Although it pained her to give up the identities of her colleagues Annie realised that there was no other of getting Eren to follow her without trying to kill her at every opportunity.

_Don't hate me for this. _Annie silently pleaded.

_I wonder how he will react. _Desire giggled with venom dripping fangs.

''The Armoured Titan is...Reiner Braun.'' She stopped to see Eren's eyes widen with utter confusion and disbelief.

''And the Colossal Titan is Bertolt Hoover.''


	22. Desperation

**Hello hello hello! This is my longest piece of writing ever and I hope it is my best, it took me ages to write this one. Anyway the last chapter had a big reveal so this chapter focuses on that. Meaning that this chapter and the one after this are going to focus on Reiner and Bertolt. **

**So please read and review so that I can make this story better for you and don't be afraid to send me a PM with questions or suggestions about this story or anything really I love hearing from my readers and speaking of you wonderful people I have hit over 7000 views...wow so I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read this and here's to 8000! **

* * *

"Bertolt and Reiner...That's not possible." Eren's eyes were wide with disbelief; he desperately wanted to simply dismiss these words as lies designed to trick and deceive him. However the look of betrayal and tragic sincerity in Annie's eyes put his denial to rest.

* * *

"Sasha if what you're saying is true, then you do realise that Wall Rose must have fallen." Reiner's stoic golden eyes sharply focused on the brown haired hunter.

"I know what I heard!" Yelled Sasha. What she and no one else saw was a spark of worry appear in Bertolt's hazy eyes. "It sounds like footsteps." Her shoulders were visibly shaking. Above them, humanity's second strongest soldier caught sight of something that would send daggers of fear into the hearts of every last man, woman and child that lived within the Walls.

"THOMAS GET ON A SWIFT HORSE AND DELIVER A REPORT... Wall Rose has fallen." The power of these words sent shivers down the spines of all those that heard them. "There are no Titans among the 104th." What he didn't know was that these were some of the final words of Mike Zacharias.

"So...they broke through the Wall?" Reiner asked, his eyes were wide as he turned to face Bertolt who wore a mask of utter confusion.

As the veterans of the Survey Corps readied for battle the unarmed and unprepared children of the 104th rushed from their barracks and saddled their horses. "How could this happen?" Asked a short boy with buzz cut hair.

"They must have hit an unmanned area of the Wall." Suggested Bertolt to which Reiner gave him a sly look. _What happened? _Thought both the Titan Shifters. With their training it took them only a few moments to prepare themselves to warn the villages that littered the interior of Wall Rose.

"Listen up!" Yelled a mouse-brown haired veteran of the Survey Corps. "You will split up into teams and give evacuation orders to the villages in the immediate area!"

"We don't have any of our gear with us though." Ymir pointed out.

"You will be accompanied by armed soldiers but try to avoid armed conflict as much as possible." Added Nanaba. "Now enough questions, ready up and move out!"

Just as the remaining members of the 104th rode out of their temporary holding Reiner caught Bertolt by his arm and pulled him to the side. "What the hell is going on?" He growled.

"I don't know, it should be impossible for Titans to be here. Maybe it is a training exercise." The tall boy suggested.

Reiner huffed and looked back to the Survey Corps most powerful soldiers. It didn't matter how many fights they had won, it didn't matter how many Titans they had killed - Reiner could see the worry and confusion on their normally stoic expressions. Not even Bertolt believed his own words.

"You and I both know that isn't true." Reiner scoffed.

"Then what do we do now?" Bertolt asked.

"...We are soldiers, so we follow our orders." He answered solemnly.

* * *

It was the sheer lack of people that gave both Reiner and Bertolt real reason to worry. "Just...I expected to see more than this." Bertolt exclaimed.

Every town, village and farm they found was exactly the same as the last: all the buildings were obliterated, pieces of debris ranging from single bricks to whole chunks of sections of homes and barns littered the streets. But what startled them the most was the utter lack of people. Not only were there no lifeless corpses that usually followed a Titan invasion but there was no evidence of that any blood had been spilled; Titans prefer to eat people whole, as Bertolt and Reiner knew too well, but they were messy eaters: always leaving behind a sickening mess as a disgusting reminder of their power.

"This make no sense..." Reiner said as he rubbed his temples. "The buildings are wrecked but there isn't a single drop of blood."

"What are we supposed to do? There's nothing here." Bertolt asked as he kicked a lump of rubble.

"We should meet up with Connie and the south team...something is definitely not right here." Reiner sighed.

On their way to find the southern team they passed through another village. Reiner wanted to stop and look for any evidence of survivors but his smoky eyed companion quickly convinced him that his search was futile and pointless. "We're not soldiers, Reiner." With that the blond Titan shifter abandoned the shattered remains of what looked like a storage barn.

"I guess...we just follow the footprints." Bertolt said as they rode parallel to the trails left by the wandering beasts.

"Connie said that he was headed to Ranko village so it should be that way." Reiner pointed in the direction of to a large clearing that was dotted with tall Conifer trees. Both of them rode in an uneasy silence, each of them trying to make sense of the utterly unexplainable situation. _How could there be Titans inside Wall Rose? _They both thought.

It was the sight of Connie racing towards the broken down ruins of what was his home that snapped both Reiner and Bertolt out of their respective trances.

"Over there!" Bertolt hollowed. Within a matter of moments they had caught up to the short boy.

"CONNIE THERE COULD TITANS ANYWHERE! SO FALL BACK FOR NOW." Reiner yelled. But Connie acted as if he never heard the words of one of his best friends.

His normally joyful eyes were frantically darting from left to right and back again looking for any signs of his loved ones but just like every other town and hamlet in the south of Wall Rose the entire place had been completely destroyed.

As Reiner chased after Connie shouting at him to slow down all the way Bertolt dismounted his horse to investigate the remains of Connie's village.

The willowy boy picked up a rusty pitchfork from the dusty floor. _This wouldn't help against a Titan, but it's better than nothing. _Bertolt thought as he stepped over several mounds of broken and discarded bricks to enter one of the homes of Ranko village.

The first thing he noticed was just how hot it was inside the remains of someone's house, and it wasn't a dry heat either, as expected from a fire. The air was thick with moisture - so much so that Bertolt could almost taste it. Another unusual thing Bertolt noticed was just how empty the interior was. It was as if someone had set of a powder keg in the very center of the building...It was as if someone had shifted into a Titan from inside.

"No that's impossible, there couldn't be a shifter here." Bertolt told himself.

"Bertolt YOU NEED TO SEE THIS!" Reiner's voice came bellowing from the remains of what Bertolt believed to be a house but the scattered debris wasn't what caused his breath to hitch.

Lying upon the collapsed roof of Connie Springer's home was a Titan. A Titan like no other. Its arms and legs were no thicker than the branches of a newly planted sapling. "How did that get here? There is no way that thing could walk." Bertolt gawked.

At the sight of his crumbled home Connie leaped down from his horse and rushed towards the Titan in a desperate bid to find his loved ones.

"MUM! DAD! SONNY, MARTIN!" The terror in the boys voice sent a cold shiver down the spines of both Bertolt and Reiner.

"Connie..." Reiner came up behind the grieving boy and rested a single hand on his shoulder, due to the tears that were rapidly forming in his in his exhausted eyes, Connie didn't see the fog of concern descend upon Bertolt's normally calm expression.

"Are there any survivors?" Reiner asked solemnly.

"No...my home is gone..." Connie's voice was cracking as his normally optimistic heart split into two. As Lynne and Gelgar, two powerful and most respected soldiers desperately to lift his spirits Bertolt and Reiner exchanged a deeply concerned glance.

"Connie...get the torches, it will be dark soon." Reiner said.

Connie quickly gathered the torches, spurred on by a sense of false hope he saddled his steed and prepared to move out when he heard something caused his stomach to flip.

"Welcome...home." It was as quiet as a mother's lullaby, but to the shaven boy it sounded as if the world had come crashing down.

"Huh..." Connie turned to find the sound. "Did it just..." Reiner never gave him a chance to finish.

"CONNIE WE NEED TO HURRY UP!" Reiner bellowed.

"Did...did you hear that?" Connie sputtered.

"I HEARD NOTHING, NOW FOCUS ON THE MISSION." Reiner ordered.

"But...but it just, it can't be true..." His eyes were wide with disbelief.

"We don't have a choice at the moment, we are soldiers so we follow orders! There are thousands of lives depending on us!" It was taking all of Reiner's strength to mask the cracks in his authoritative tone.

As they rode away Reiner craned his back and stared right into the eyes of the thin-limbed Titan that lay among the ruins of Connie's family home. _There is no mistaking it...these people were turned into Titans...but there is only one person who could do this. _Reiner quickly dismissed this thought as nothing but the rambling ideas of an exhausted soldier.

* * *

With the torches emitting a warming orange aura the Survey Corps slowly plodded through the all consuming blackness of night. The sun had set many hours ago, leaving the weary and tired souls struggling to see a few feet infront of them. The south team had been following the seemingly shattered ridge of Wall Rose for four hours without finding any evidence of the Colossal Titan's appearance.

"This is useless! We have been at this for hours and we haven't seen anything." Gelgar hollered in frustration.

"Oi Gelgar, keep it down, we could be surrounded right now and we wouldn't even know it!" Lynne hissed. These words rang sharply in the ears of the newly graduated troops, not only were their bodies on the brink of collapse but the impenetrable blackness of night was slowly eating at their sanity. A mixture of sheer exhaustion and a seemingly impossible odds had and still were taking their toll on the young minds.

When the sounds of footsteps first drifted into their ears it filled them with a sense of indescribable fear, Reiner, Bertolt, Connie, Gelgar and Lynne waited with baited breath as they prepared to come face to face with a hungry Titan...but the Titans never came. Instead came a small orb of light, and then another and another until the faces of Ymir, Krista, Nanaba and Henning came into view.

"So you followed the Wall too, so where's the hole?" Asked Ymir.

"N-no we haven't seen a hole either..." replied Bertolt.

"Is it possible that you missed it?" The fractious tone in Ymir's voice was a testament to her exhaustion.

"How could we miss a hole big enough for a Titan to get through?" Reiner snapped.

"Calm it soldiers!" Barked Nanaba. "We should go back to double check but..." The veteran turned back to see Krista fighting to keep her brilliant blue eyes open. "I think both us and our horses are near breaking point." She huffed.

"If we at least had some moonlight then maybe..." As if reacting to Ymir's words, the great ebony clouds that had formed above them many hours ago began to part, cracks appearing in the seemingly unbreakable veil that covered the entire sky. Moments later they parted, revealing to them a full moon, the light of which purged the shadows that surrounded them. With the blackness of the night weakened the entire area around them became clear and visible to the naked eye.

"Is that...a ruined castle?" Gawked arguably one of the strongest soldiers humanity had seen.

She was right: not three hundred meters ahead of them was the decrepit remains of Utgard castle. "Come on, we can rest here for the night." Nanaba sighed.

* * *

"Woah...this place is really close to the Wall, there are even signs people were living in this dump too." Gelgar said as he pointed to a fire pit that was overflowing with ashes.

"I never knew there was an old castle this close to Wall Rose." Ymir mumbled.

"Hey Gelgar, you are going to love me for this!" Lynne came bursting through one of the rotten wood doors that dotted the fortress, in one hand were a pair of shiny brass cups and in the other was a tall, pitch black bottle. The oak haired woman threw the bottle towards the weary eyed veteran plucked the glass container out of the air seconds before it shattered into pieces, he read the label with a stern look on his face.

"Hhhmm...what does this say?" Gelgar pondered. What no one but Reiner saw was the way Ymir's golden eyes sharpened slightly at the sound of this odd question.

"It's likely that this place was used by bandits or thieves, who would have guessed we would owe the roof over our head to a bunch of criminals." Nanaba scoffed.

"Maybe we should call those pigs we call MPs to come and check it out right now." Lynne's comment caused the rest of the veterans to erupt with howling laughter.

The rest of the new recruits stayed silent: they were both too tired and too 'innocent' to know of the corruption that dwelled within the Military Police. Once the cackling had died down, Henning stood from his sleeping mat. The short haired man walked towards the spiral staircase that coiled up the spine of the tower.

"You recruits rest up..." He sighed. "The sun has been down for quite a while now so there shouldn't be any Titans moving around, but we will take turns keeping watch." He added.

"Henning is right." Nanaba also stood from her perch. "We leave around four hours before sunrise."

"Um..." Krista looked up from the roaring fire. "If it turns out that the Wall hasn't been breached then...then where did all the Titans come from?" No one saw the nervous glance that Bertolt and Reiner exchanged as the words left her lips.

"That is going to be our job tomorrow, but for now just get some rest. I'll take first watch." With that Henning climbed the stairs and disappeared into the bitter cold of the night.

"Could it be...that maybe things aren't as bad as we thought?" Krista whispered hopefully.

The collection of weary souls stayed mostly silent after that, in the end and to no ones surprise it was Ymir that broke the trance.

"Say Connie...what happened to your village?" The freckled girl asked.

The short boy sighed before answering. "It was destroyed, Titans had already trampled the place." Krista looked towards Connie with sympathy in her eyes.

"Oh… I see." Ymir whispered.

"But," Connie cut her off. "It looked like everyone managed to get away." The emptiness of his voice didn't change as he delivered what should have been good news.

Ymir looked at the boy and then into the flickering fingers of fire before a thought burst into her head. "Hang on...you said your village was destroyed?"

"Houses and everything was damaged but there were no victims from the village." He paused. "If they had been eaten then...there would be blood and well, other remains left behind right? There weren't any so no one was killed...but..." Ymir noted the look of sadness in his eyes.

"There's one thing that's been bothering me...you see there was this Titan that had crushed my home, it was just lying there but its arms and legs were so weak that it couldn't move on it's own but the thing is...it, it kind of looked my mother."

"Connie, you're still going on about that?" Reiner snapped.

"HAHAHAHA! SO YOUR MUM WAS A TITAN! SO WHY ARE YOU SO TINY THEN!?" Ymir cackled like a Harpy. "C'mon Connie how does that make any sense?"

"Ugh just shut up...this is stupid..." The discomfort on Connie's face was clear to everyone as he massaged his temples.

"So let me get this straight… If what you're saying is true then your dad must be a Titan as well right? Or else how would they do it!?" Ymir said between fits of laughter.

"JUST SHUT UP AND GO THE BED YOU BITCH!" Connie snapped.

Ymir smirked to herself as Connie stood from the fire, offering to find more water for the horses. "You did that to take his mind from the Titans didn't you?" Krista whispered softly.

Ymir turned to face her tiny friend with a sharp grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

* * *

Hours later, the vast majority of the soldiers were fast asleep, preparing for the trying day ahead. However not all were resting on their sleeping mats, in the eerie silence of night two were skulking about the castle in search of some very different things.

"What are you doing Ymir?" The tall girl sighed and lifted herself from the slightly ajar crate.

"Creeping into a girls room at night Reiner? You don't seem like the kind of guy who's interested in girls..." Ymir joked sourly.

"And you don't seem like the kind of girl who is interested in guys." Reiner scoffed.

"Ha ha...if you're trying to catch me doing something dodgy then I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm just looking for something to fill my stomach... seeing how we will probably be dead tomorrow." Said Ymir as she returned to digging through the box.

"Aren't you the optimist...anyway I wanted to know, when you were talking to Connie, you changed the subject on purpose didn't you?" Reiner asked with cynical grin. "If you can I want you to keep doing it so he won't get worried for his family."

"I have no idea what you're talking about...oh here we go!" From the wooden crate Ymir pulled what appeared to be a small metal can. "Hhmm...this will do, Herring isn't my favourite..." Ymir hummed contently.

"Got anymore in there? Let me take a look at that." Reiner asked.

Ymir took another glance at the can before handing it to the blond shifter. He took the can from Ymir, his eyes sharpened when he noticed the strange, unreadable symbols that circled the metal container.

"This is canned food?...I-I can't read these letters. This says 'Herring' on it?" Ymir refused to meet Reiner's gaze. "I'm surprised Ymir, you can read these things?" What Reiner couldn't see was the bead of sweat that was trickling down Ymir's tanned cheek.

An uneasy and thick silence fell on the two of them as Ymir turned to face Reiner, it was taking all of her unfathomable will power to hold her eye contact with the scrutinous, young soldier…

"ALL TROOPS WAKE UP!" Lynne's scream echoed through to old stone walls of the castle, shattering the trance between Ymir and Reiner. "GET TO THE ROOF NOW!" By this time all the resting teens were awake and hastily preparing themselves for whatever had startled their superior.

* * *

Titans...there were so many Titans. All around them Titans of all sizes were closing in on them.

Gelgar, Henning, Nanaba, Lynne, Ymir, Krista, Connie, Sasha, Reiner and Bertolt stood from the very top of Utgard tower with their jaws dropped. This truly was humanity's worst nightmare, most of the soldiers were unarmed and still exhausted from a frantic days work.

"H-how are they still moving? It's been hours since the sun set." Gelgar gawked as a five meter class Titan climbed over the castle wall.

"What is going on?" Krista asked, her ocean blue eyes were wide as she scanned the area around her.

"HEY GUYS...WHAT'S THAT!?" Connie's voice was broken as he pointed to a Titan...A Titan like no other. A Titan that Bertolt and Reiner never thought they would see again. "What the hell is that? It's huge."

Beyond the tower, barely fifty meters away from them was a Titan, far larger than most Titans any of them had ever seen; it was covered in a thick coat of dark brown hair and even in the dim light of the moon all of them could see the ebony black oceans of its giant eyes. The beastly Titan strolled past the tower without a glance to the terrified humans.

_What is he doing here? Wait… He was the one behind Ranko village and all the other Titans. _Thought both Bertolt and Reiner.

Ymir just stared at the Titan with a horrifying feeling of deja vu.

"It's… heading for the Wall… " Krista mumbled.

Lynne was about to ask her commander for orders when a great tremor shook the tower from the base to the very top. "What the hell was that?" Henning yelled.

The answer came in the form of a 13 meter class Titan with a fat stomach ramming against the side of the castle with all its unnatural strength.

Everyone hurried to find the cause of the quaking, from the corner of his experienced eyes Gelgar caught sight of something chilling.

At the very bottom of the tower there were three Titans clawing desperately at the at the rotted door. "No no no no! Don't start coming in here… you have got be kidding me." Gelgar was close to breaking point. "DON'T YOU FUCK WITH ME! BECAUSE OF YOU I CAN'T EVEN GET A DRINK!" He roared in primal anger.

"Gelgar, calm down...stay back recruits. The rest of you switch to maneuvering gear. MOVE OUT!" With Nanaba's orders fresh in their minds the armed troops unsheathed their blades and leaped from the tower top. While they fought with valour and skill the unarmed and unprepared teenagers rushed down into the bowels of castle Utgard, just before they left to fight for their lives, Lynne used her cables to fly to the top of the tower to give them a heart crushing message.

"Titans have entered the tower! Get back inside and put up barricades to stop them! Just remember… we might not be able to come and save you." She huffed, clearly exhausted.

With that the remains of the 104th went to ready themselves for the imminent arrival of their worst nightmares. "I'll see how far the Titans have come! The rest of you gather up whatever you can! Boards, poles whatever!" Reiner ordered as he vaulted down the stairs.

"Reiner wait!" Krista yelled.

"Wait!" Bertolt hollowed as he chased his friend.

"He's the same as he was in training, always the first into danger..." Connie said to himself.

"Yeah...it's a bad habit of his." Bertolt said in a solemn tone.

By this time Reiner had reached the bottom of the stairs, he paused to catch his breath. In front of him was a large wooden door lined with thick, rust encrusted bolts. Reiner could see patches of rot and decay dotted across the door and he felt a lump rise in his throat. _Locked or not this wouldn't last a minute against a Titan. _Reiner took a deep breath and opened the door with a loud creek, beyond the door was yet another spiral staircase but that wasn't what caught Reiner's attention. It was the the Titan.

The first thing Reiner noticed was the devilish look of savage desire in its large eyes, Reiner felt as if a rope had been strung around his neck. He immediately slammed the door and pressed himself against the wooden barrier just as the Titan barreled into it. Reiner felt the wooden planks bend and creak under the immense strength of the ravenous monster.

"DOWN HERE! BRING SOMETHING, ANYTHING!" He yelled in a panicked tone. Reiner could hear the hurried footsteps of his friend as they rushed to help him. _Too late..._He thought as the Titan punched a large hole through the door sending splinters flying through the air. _If we don't do something...I'm gonna...but here? Am I going to die? _He truly believed that these would be his last moments alive as the Titan's grotesque fingers blindly searched for him.

As the Titan raised its claw yet again Reiner thought back to the last time a Titan about to take his life.

*flashback*

_"What do we do Marcel?" The young Reiner cried as he, Marcel, and Bertolt sprinted through the thick forest. Behind them was a pointy eared Titan with razor sharp nails and sharper teeth. The young children were defenceless as the seven meter class monster bore down on them, it extended a long thick hand ready to crush the short blond boy in a vice like grip when Marcel appeared seemingly from nowhere and threw himself between his childhood friend and the Titan before them. _

*end flashback*

Before Reiner could finish the gruesome thought the attacking Titan forced its bulbous head through the hole it had created. _I have to go home! I will go home! _Reiner ordered to himself.

"DUCK!" It was strange to hear Bertolt yell like that, but Reiner obeyed his friends order, he fell to the floor and rolled to the side just as Bertolt appeared in front of the door wielding a long pitchfork. With all his power Bertolt thrust the metal spikes into the eyes of the Titan, scarlet blood erupted from the hungry irises and the monster howled an unnatural howl as Bertolt drove the tool further and further into the skull of the Titan, Reiner stood from the blood stained floor and took a hold of the wooden grip of the farm tool with Bertolt. Their combined strength forced the Titan back through the hole it had created.

"Reiner, are you okay?" Bertolt huffed.

"Yeah..." He growled. "Bertolt, we ARE going to live through this and when we do...we are going home."

"Yeah we are going back!" For the first time in many years there was hope in Bertolt's smokey eyes.

"REINER! Bertolt!" It was Ymir's shrill voice that took their attention from the Titan. She, Krista and Connie were at the top of the staircase. With a cannon. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! WE'RE THROWING IT AT THEM!" Ymir yelled.

With all their might the three of them pushed the heavy metal barrel down the stairs. Reiner and Bertolt exchanged a panicked look before leaping to safety, clear from the doorway there was nothing between the Titan and the cannon. The sheer weight of the weapon immediately shattered the Titan's skull and crushing its spine causing its body to go limp.

"Woah...looks like it actually worked, there's no way it could get from under that." Connie sighed. "Should we try and kill it? All I have is this knife."

"Forget it, it's still dangerous." Reiner said.

"For now lets just retreat back upstairs, maybe more got in." Krista suggested...Just as another Titan crawled over the broken door.

Just before it could clamp its jaws around Connie's neck the Armoured Titan stepped between them both.

"CONNIE!" Reiner roared. Seconds before Connie's head was between the teeth of a Titan, Reiner pushed the monster away from his friend at the cost of his right arm. Reiner was helpless as the Titan increased the pressure on his arm, blood started oozing from the hole the Titan's fangs had made, with an almighty crunch Reiner screamed as he felt the bones in his arm grind together and eventually snap.

"R-Reiner!" Bertolt called out.

Krista rushed forward to help her ally but Ymir stopped her, the short blond girl turned on her taller friend with terror in her striking blue eyes but Ymir simply shook her head.

"AAGGHH" Reiner cried, using all his freakish power he pulled the Titan on to his back, despite the movement the Titan showed no sign of letting go of Reiner's arm as it gnawed off more of his flesh with a series of sickening snaps and squelches.

"H-hey don't tell me you're thinking of jumping down with that thing?" Connie gawked as Reiner climbed the stairs towards a small window at an agonizingly slow pace.

"IF THAT'S WHAT I NEED TO DO..." Reiner yelled.

"No...wait," Connie unsheathed his knife. "If I can just cut its jaw..." The Titan growled in pain as the short boy sliced and hacked away at the thin thews of skin and muscle that were causing agony to Reiner. After a few slices the Titan was forced to let go of Reiner's arm, seeing her chance Ymir dashed forward in a blur of chocolate brown hair and tanned skin; as she closed in on her target, she leaped up onto the windowsill and with the heel of her boot Ymir kicked the Titan square in the head.

The force of the impact sent the Titan hurtling out of the window and crashing to the floor in a cloud of dust and blood. With the Titan threat temporarily dealt with, the surviving members of the Survey Corps set about erecting barricades to protect themselves. It took much longer than they expected but they were immensely satisfied with bulwark however for all their defences and buildings they had no idea how much they had lost.

* * *

Outside the main tower of Castle Utgard the fight against the Titan horde was going as well as expected of the best of the Survey Corps veterans, around them the steaming corpses of Titans of every shape and size littered the castle grounds. Nanaba, Gelgar, Henning and Lynne were nothing short of a furious storm of sharp metal and and evaporating blood. But to the beastly Titan they were merely a punching bag to be beaten, tested and experimented on.

Yet despite the Beast Titan's want for learning and testing, watching the army he had painstakingly created being slaughtered like livestock was frustrating to say the least. From behind the thick layers of fur, skin and muscle was a person. A pilot. A king.

"They are far stronger than I believed...this is good." Mumbled the pilot. "But...maybe they are a little too strong." And so the Beast Titan roared a roar like no other.

* * *

"What's that noise?" These were the last words Henning spoke and the last words Lynne heard before they were both crushed by a piece of Wall Rose, the wall that had kept them safe for so many years.

"LYNNE! HENNING!" Nanaba screamed as the life was crushed out of her comrades. The sound caused by the boulder attracted the attention of not only of Gelgar and Nanaba but that also of the 104th, they emerged from the tower with Reiner's arm in a makeshift sling crafted from a filthy piece of cloth torn from Krista's dress.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" Connie yelled.

"It's hopeless...they're dead." Nanaba sighed.

There was the briefest moment's silence before a terrifying roar pierced their ears, everyone covered their ears to shield themselves from the quaking howl but a second later they needed protection from something much, much worse than a scream.

"Multiple Titans approaching!" Connie gasped as twice as many Titans from the previous attack came forth from the forest.

"I-it is almost as if the damn Titans are toying with us." Gelgar huffed.

* * *

From the top of Wall Rose the Beast Titan had a clear view of the chaos unfolding before him.

Closing in on Castle Utgard the main force of the Survey Corps, thanks to the supernatural vision the Beast Titan possessed it was easy for him to make out the approaches. "Well it looks like those two are their own..." As he climbed down from his vantage point the pilot of the Beast Titan thought an unusual thought. _I wonder how the girl is getting along? _

* * *

Their screams echoed out into the night, filling the ears of those unfortunate enough to hear them. Gelgar and Nanaba fought with burning fury, deadly precision and outstanding valor but alas in the face of such unbelievable numbers there was nothing they could do to avoid such a demise.

Gelgar had been snatched from inside the tower after crashing through the fragile brickwork before having his head torn from his battered and bruised body. Nanaba was helpless as the Titans lunged at her; in the moments before her death Nanaba had exhausted her supplies of gas and blades leaving her defenceless as the Titans tore her limb from limb.

"So...do we just wait for the tower to collapse and get eaten?" Connie sighed as he sat against a wooden crate. "Isn't there anything we can do? DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT...I just wanted this mission to have meant something, you know?" There were tears forming in his eyes but Connie made no attempt to hide them.

"I...want to fight too...If only I had a weapon, then I could die with them." Krista said firmly.

Ymir's normally sharp, calm eyes focused on her tiny companion. "Krista, are you still going on about that? Are you stupid or something? Did you forget what happened during training?"

Her words forced Krista to think back to their time during training and imparticular their mission among the vast mountains of Rose pass and the promise she had forced Krista to agree to.

*flashback*

"Krista...when I reveal my secret you have to promise to go back to living your life as the true you… go back to living by your true name. Promise me this Krista."

*end flashback*

"Looks like I don't have much of a choice..." Ymir sighed as the first rays of sunrise appeared from far over the horizon. "Oi Connie, you still have that knife?"

"Yeah, why? What are you going to do with it?" Connie asked as he passed the knife to the tanned girl.

"Thanks, I am going to need it as a weapon. " She patted his shaven head. "I'm not too sure actually." Ymir scoffed.

"Ymir...what are you planning?" Reiner took a step towards her.

The girl simply answered by looking right at him and saying. "I'm going to fight...Just like that blockhead." Ymir turned to Krista holding the blade. "I have no right to tell you how to live your life so think of this… as a wish. Live your life with pride." With that Ymir flashed her friend a wicked grin before breaking into a full sprint, just as the sun peaked over the horizon Ymir leaped off the top of Castle Utgard. Her mind racing with voices begging her stop but the knife Connie gave her she plunged the sharp metal into her hand and all her thoughts focused on protecting the tower. She grimaced at the pain as a bolt of lightning shot out of her body...as she shifted into a Titan.

As she shifted into the Titan that ate Reiner and Bertolt's closest friend.


	23. With the Walls behind them

**A/N: Hello lovely readers! This was a really really fun one to write, I just love writing action scenes. As for those who were hoping to see Eren and Annie in this chapter I'm sorry to say you are going to have to wait until next time. **

**So as normal please review as what is a story without its critics? Also I know I have talked about this story in the past but I really think it is an amazing story. 'Throw' is one of the finest stories on this website, it has hundreds of reviews and all of them say what a brilliant story it is so please if you want a beautifully crafted story about Eren and Annie then go and read it. **

**Enjoy the chapter and please PM me with any questions or suggestions! **

* * *

The moment the lightning cleared and the searing heat had passed the stunned teens leaned over the edge of the tower, their faces a mixture of confusion and betrayal.

''No..no it can't be that Titan...'' Reiner growled, he wanted to look to Bertolt for a sign to show that this wasn't some sick nightmare but whenever he tried to move his head Reiner found his golden eyes locked onto the seven meter monster. If the blond boy had turned to see his friend then he would have seen a fog of rage and denial on Bertolt's tanned face.

Meanwhile halfway down the tower the Titan that Ymir had created was dancing across the sea of Titans, her body was barely half the height of the infamous Female Titan that they had faced merely days earlier, Ymir's creation had long black hair that fell just below its shoulders. What everyone noticed about the Titan was just how long its arms were, they stretched down far beyond its huge feet giving in a monkey like appearance.

From behind the layers of flesh and meat Ymir's soul thought was on killing everything that moved, it didn't matter to her that her body was far smaller than most of the attacking Titans to Ymir all that mattered was speed. A fifteen meter Titan extended a misshapen hand to grasp her ankle but in the instant before it made contact with her body she leaped over its body, Ymir dug her giant talon like fingernails into the ribs of her attacker and using the Titan as an anchor she drove her razor like fangs into the back of its neck. With a sickening ripping sound and the flick of her head she tore out the entirety of its neck and spinal column.

That was the first of many Titans to fall to Ymir's dancing Titan but to the members of the 104th it mattered not how many she killed what mattered was the fact that she could kill them the way she was.

''N-no way...Ymir can turn into a Titan.'' Connie gawked.

''Th-that's the Titan...from that day.'' Part of Bertolt simply refused to believe that his ally, friend and fellow soldier was the Titan that took one of his closest friends from him.

Since that day both Bertolt and Reiner had done their best to bury the memories of watching as Marcel was snatched from right in front of them, they were only young children when they were forced to watch as their dear friend torn apart and devoured by Ymir.

Bertolt found the only emotion that he felt in light of this revelation was a deep and powerful and misguided hatred towards the newly discovered shifter. _She comes with us… _He thought.

Krista leaned over the edge of the tower even further, trying desperately to make sense of the situation her eyes were wide as she attempted to follow the movements of her closest friend. By doing so she loosened some of the already weakened bricks before Krista knew it she was tumbling to her certain demise when she was saved by a the immense strength of Reiner who caught her by the leg just before Krista fell out of reach.

''It's okay! I've got you.'' Reiner huffed as he heaved Krista back to safety. As he hauled her back over the edge his golden, stoic eyes glanced over at the Dancing Titan as it tore the head off another victim, anger flooded through every fiber of his being and that anger caused him to ball his fists.

''Ow!'' Reiner, my leg!'' Krista shrieked as Reiner gritted his teeth.

Connie tore his gaze from Ymir at the sound of Krista's cries. ''Reiner it's okay I've got her.'' The short boy yelled as he helped bring the blued eyed girl back to safety.

''S-sorry...'' Reiner said seemingly stunned by Krista's pain. ''Did you know about...'' He turned to look over the edge of the tower. ''Ymir...''

''No...We were always so close, but this...I had no idea.'' Krista gawked as Ymir ripped the eyes from their sockets in a gory fountain of crimson blood. ''We spent three years together...I just don't understand! It can't be true! I don't want it to be true!'' Krista screamed just as Ymir's Titan roared a deathly roar.

''So...She knew one of the greatest secrets in the world...She should have contributed to the corps, like Eren did.'' Reiner growled.

''But maybe she didn't because she couldn't?'' Bertolt wasn't quite sure why he was defending the monster that took Marcel from him but yet he was.

''WAIT! Eren didn't know about his power right? B-but Ymir, I think she knew about her powers.'' Connie suggested. ''Which is she?'' He wondered.

''What are you talking about Connie? Are you saying that Ymir might be an enemy of humanity!?'' Krista rounded on the boy with fire in her normally calm eyes.

''Well yeah, she always seemed unfazed no matter how bad things got just like in has to be because she was hiding this power, no one could ever no what she was thinking...Not even you.''

Krista wanted to lash out and yell at Connie for doubting the loyalty of her closest friend. But deep down she truly realised how little she knew about Ymir. It didn't matter how many years they spent together or the tiny hints Ymir would leave about her past. Krista didn't even know Ymir's last name.

Meanwhile Ymir was beginning to feel the strain of creating such a body ill suited for fighting those much larger than her. While dodging the claw of a Titan another had reached out and grabbed Ymir's Titan by the wrist, using its superior strength the attacking Titan hauled her from the safety of the tower. As soon as it could the Titan clamped its teeth down on Ymir elbow, biting through skin, flesh and bone.

''YMIR!'' Krista screamed.

Ymir seemingly paid no attention to her friends desperate shrieks, she instead gritted her grisly teeth and bore down on those that would attack her. Using her razor like fangs Ymir tore off the hand of the fifteen meter class Titan before leaping up to where she hoped to be a safe height. She was wrong. Mere meters from safety yet another much stronger Titan grabbed onto one of her legs with a vice like grip, Ymir dug her claws into the fragile brickwork of the tower. From behind her great ebony eyes Ymir could see the terrified faces of her friends. Of Krista.

_You've got to be kidding me… _Ymir huffed into the flesh that shielded her.

''She just let go!'' Connie shouted. Immediately everyone's attention was focused on the black haired Titan as she was pulled to her doom.

''She's risking her life for us...Ymir doesn't want to damage the tower because of us.'' The short blond girl gawked.

''Things aren't looking good for her.'' Reiner bellowed and he was right. Titans of all sizes were climbing over each other to sink their giant teeth into her defenceless carcase.

At the sight of her classically selfish and egotistical friend sacrificing herself for others caused something to snap inside the selfless and benevolent girl.

''YMIR! DON'T YOU DARE DIE.'' She screamed. ''WHY'RE YOU ACTING LIKE A SAINT? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO LOOK COOL AS YOU DIE?'' At this point Krista was climbing onto the lip of the tower. EVERYONE KNOWS YOU'RE ROTTEN TO THE CORE. ARE YOU SUCH A MORON THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN STILL GET INTO HEAVEN...'' Krista smirked a devilish smirk. ''IF PROTECTING THIS TOWER IS GOING TO KILL YOU THEN JUST SMASH IT TO PIECES!'' And that's exactly what she did. Using her free arm Ymir began tearing bricks out of the tower with a roar like thunder.

''W-woah she...she is actually doing it.'' Bertolt said as the stone beneath his feet began to quake and sway.

''That's it Ymir, bring it all down!'' Krista ordered. As the tower started to lean and teeter Ymir gracefully and quickly climbed up to the unstable remains of Castle Utgard, as she rounded on her human comrades and did something only a select chosen Titans could do. She spoke.

''Climb. On. To. Live.'' To those around her it sounded as if Ymir's Titan had eaten gravel but they all did as ordered, latching onto her blood stained hair as if their lives depended on it. Ymir rounded onto the other side of the tower as it began to fall. All the Titans below it were immediately crushed under the immense weight of the tower with a terrible crunch of shattering bones.

Once the dust from the fallen tower had cleared the exhausted members of the 104th jumped down from their Titan mount to access their situation.

''I can't believe that worked.'' Bertolt sighed as he helped lift his injured friend.

''Oi ugly, you planned to bury those Titans under the tower didn't you?'' Connie shouted to the Titan. ''Talk about a crazy plan.'' He added.

Krista paid no attention to the bald boy, she was instead herdling over the rubble to reach her friend. ''Ymir!'' At the sound of joy in Krista's voice Ymir ordered her body to face her tiny ally.

Just as she neared the Titan the ground under her feet began to shake and quake causing her to trip. ''THE TITANS ARE GETTING BACK UP.'' Reiner roared.

From beneath the remains Titans began clawing their way from their temporary bindings. ''Ymir, go get them!'' Connie ordered.

Without a moment's hesitation Ymir rushed forward to meet the first Titan, before it had a chance to pull itself out from the rubble Ymir already had ripped the flesh from its neck in a disgusting fountain of boiling blood. But that's where her success ended.

Just as she finished with the first Titan another, much larger monster appeared from a large mound of bricks. It reached out with a giant hand and grabbed a fistful of Ymir's ebony black hair. Using its superior strength the bald Titan pick her up and threw her around as if she were a rag doll.

''YMIR! NO.'' Krista screamed as she continued to run to her friend, even the sight of Ymir's Titan body being torn apart did nothing to stop her not even as they bore into her body like magots. ''I never got to tell you my real name...'' From behind the many layers of skin, flesh and bone Ymir could faintly hear the cries of her dearest friend. But she wasn't the only one who heard. Both Reiner and Bertolt were paying extremely close attention.

The tall boy turned to his injured ally. ''Now Reiner?'' He questioned.

''One more moment...'' Reiner answered solemnly.

Krista was mere meters away from the broken body of the Dancing Titan and as a result the other Titans that were gorging themselves of her carcase started to pay more attention to the tiny human. ''My name is Historia Reiss!'' Krista screamed just before the world around her exploded with heat and the roar of one of humanity's greatest enemies filled all their ears.

* * *

Connie and Bertolt covered their ears as burning steam enveloped them both, Krista was however far away enough see the plume of gas rising into the air. ''Wh-'' She never had a chance to finish before a colossal hand reached through the cloud and closed around her fragile body.

''REINER! PICK US UP!'' Bertolt yelled and yet another hand gently curled around his figure before lifting him off the floor. As the ground vanished beneath him his smokey eyes adjusted to the sudden change and in the not too far distance there were horses and many soldiers riding them, they were the Survey Corps. ''HURRY REINER!''

''What is happening!?'' The newly revealed girl screamed. She turned her head and found herself staring directly into the radiant golden eyes of the infamous Armoured Titan. His entire face and body was line with thick plates of seeming indestructible armour. ''What the hell!?'' Before she knew it the fifteen meter Titan slotted her between two plates of armour still hot from creation. Moments later Bertolt was next to her keeping her restrained.

''REINER GET YMIR!'' Bertolt roared. A second later humanities second greatest enemy charged over to the nest of Titans that were rapidly getting closer and closer to the weakened pilot by the second. For reasons that at the time eluded Bertolt the pilot of the newly formed Titan made sure to step over Connie who was still watching the situation unfold with a look a utter bewilderment.

He struck his first target with the force of a wrecking ball, the Titan's head dissolved into a fine mist of blood and bone. The strength of the impact forced the surrounding Titan's to back away, apart from a fifteen meter class that stood its ground over it's 'kill.'

Reiner took in a deep breath of hot sticky air before bearing down on the confident beast, moving like liquid Reiner sent a balled fist into the mouth of the Titan, with a sickening crunch he tore the lower jaw from it's face causing a veritable waterfall of blood to come gushing from the wound. Reiner didn't waste any time in sending his other plated fist into the steaming mess that was its mouth. The power behind the punch was like being hit by a freight train, the back of the Titan's neck exploded and the now lifeless corpse came crashing down beside Ymir's broken body.

Just as the remaining members of the Survey Corps arrived at the crumbling remains of Castle Utgard the Armoured Titan had already pulled Ymir's limp body from her now nearly fully decomposed body. ''All soldiers! Focus on the Armoured Titan!'' Ordered the commander who Bertolt noted looked like a woman with messy chocolate hair and glasses. All at once the brigade of veterans roared before charging into a pointless battle.

Reiner hauled Ymir to the crook of his giant neck where Bertolt and the confused Historia were waiting. The short blond girl reached out and pulled her friend from the Reiner's hand, she began to cradle her head after making sure she was safe. Ymir's human body was a mess, both her left arm and leg had been torn off by the ravenous Titans and Historia could tell by feeling her stomach that her insides were like scrambled eggs. ''Bertolt…what is going on!?'' She demanded.

''We...we can't explain now, just come with us peacefully and we can explain everything.'' Bertolt yelled over the noise of Reiner breaking into his famous charging sprint.

_Not as if I have a choice! _She thought bitterly but in the corner of her eye Historia swore she saw a flicker of hatred or some other form of anger in Bertolt's normally passive expression.

To protect Bertolt and the others Reiner cupped his hands over his neck, covering them with impenetrable shield just as the first of many strikes started raining down on them.

It didn't matter how many blades they struck against the plates of armour, not a single blade made a scratch on Reiner's body but that didn't stop those he protected feeling the fear of being meters from death.

''I am not losing anyone else to you people!'' Mikasa growled as yet another pair of ultrahard steel blades shattered upon impact with a piece of particularly thick armour at the nape of Reiner's neck. To Mikasa it didn't matter how many times her attacks failed to penetrate his armour, she was going to do everything in her superhuman power to make them suffer for what Annie and her 'people' did to her. ''Reiner? Is that you in there? How about you Bertolt? Why don't you come out?'' It didn't matter how much protection there was between Mikasa and himself, Reiner could clearly hear the poison and ice in Mikasa's tone.

''REINER! HURRY!'' Bertolt called out from behind his friends sheild. Hearing his ally in such fear spurred him on to get him and the others to safety.

_Hold on Bertolt this is going to be rough. _Reiner silently ordered. _I hope there are still some Titan's around. _

The moment the Armoured Titan's jaw plates separated Mikasa knew what was about to happen, she gracefully leaped from his broad shoulders and back down to her horse just as Reiner released a deep, ground shaking roar.

Unlike the Female Titan's scream this was a roar, not a death rattle or wounded cry, this was instead a battle hardened roar that caused even the well trained steeds of the Survey Corps to stop in their tracks.

''Watch for Titans!'' The chocolate haired woman yelled to her subordinates.

The remaining Titans that attacked Ymir focused their attention on the Armoured Titan and thus the soldiers of the Survey Corps. _Go on you hungry bastards, eat up. _Reiner huffed into the heat of his body.

There were only six Titans left from the assault of the castle but Reiner would have been happy with just one. Only two of the largest Titan's went for Reiner and his cargo, the other four launched themselves at the soldiers. However Reiner knew that these weren't just rookies who had just graduated, they were the finest Titan slayers humanity had to offer. Before Reiner had a chance to look over his shoulder two of the four that attacked the Corps had fallen.

But his distraction had worked the main bulk of the human forces were now held up by the Titan and the two that had attacked Reiner were far slower than he and their focus on him was slowly fading.

Reiner knew that his Titan had a massive disadvantage, all the armour that covered his body was beginning to slow him down, in situations like this he would shed the protection from his legs to reduce the carry weight of his body and increase his overall mobility but…

To his right there was a single soldier that would not give up on pursuing him, Reiner didn't even need to look to know that Mikasa, the strongest of the 104th was the one who was chasing.

''WHERE IS HE!?'' She screamed as her ebony hair fluttered in the punishing wind. If he got rid of the armour on his legs it would leave his knees vulnerable to attack however, she was catching up at a worrying rate.

_Lets try this out then… _Reiner took in a deep breath and gritted his just as Mikasa neared his ankles. _Explode! _Reiner ordered to himself. It started with a tingling sensation that quickly arouse to a burning feeling as pressure built up in his legs. _RELEASE! _

The armour on his legs all the way up to his thighs exploded from his body sending shards of razor like plating in all directions, one caught Mikasa's horse in one of its ankles sending it toppling to the grassy ground and Mikasa with it.

_That did it! _Reiner thought as he began accelerating away from the furious warrior.

''I WILL FIND YOU!'' Mikasa Ackerman roared as once again she was forced to watch the enemy escape from her.

* * *

''Reiner...open up.'' Bertolt huffed, he had no idea how long it had been since he heard the splintering sound of Reiner ejecting his armour, Bertolt was certain it had been at least three or four hours. Ymir was still unconscious from her great ordeal but thanks to the light that shone through the cracks in Reiner's giant fingers both Bertolt and Historia could the faintest traces of a smile on her lips.

Also to Bertolt's surprise Historia had spoken very little during the trip, in fact she had only asked one question. ''Will Ymir be okay?'' Bertolt had replied with a simple nod as steam poured out of the stumps of her missing limbs, with that she went back to cradling her head.

Responding to his friends request the Armoured Titan groaned as he came to a stop. Piloting a Titan as large and as heavy as his had been taking its tole on the boy. Reiner took one last look around them to make sure that there were no Titans around. Confident that they were alone Reiner removed his hands from his neck, at first Bertolt and Historia were blinded by the sudden flood of light but a matter of seconds their eyes had adjusted to the brightness of the afternoon.

''Reiner, you okay?'' Bertolt asked softly as he climbed up his body to sooth his armoured cheeks.

The Titan responded by emitting a low moan that shook the air around them. ''Take us to those trees and we can take a break.'' Bertolt pointed to a small forest made up of tall conifer trees. ''Those trees are tall enough to keep us safe.'' He added, this comment was enough to convince the exhausted shifter. The Armoured Titan slowly walked towards the trees that were a little over a hundred meters away.

Once they reached the forest Reiner helped lift the sleeping girl to a large flat branch, Bertolt and Historia were quick to follow, once they were clear of his Titan Reiner built up the pressure in the back of his neck to breaking point, with a slow nod Bertolt told Historia to get down and cover herself before doing so himself.

A sharp popping sound followed by a loud cracking let Bertolt know that Reiner had finally left his body behind. ''Reiner, how are you feeling?''

Reiner replied by groaning before fully detaching from his now decomposing Titan. ''Yeah...just gimme a minute.'' Reiner said as he massaged his scarred eyes.

''So...it really is you Reiner.'' Historia said in a tone like a disappointed mother.

''Yes as you can clearly see I am the Armoured Titan.'' Reiner said roughly.

''Now you're here I have some questions.'' She demanded.

''I'm sure you do so ask away.'' The blond boy said almost jokingly.

''...Why did you take us?'' She asked after a period of silence.

''We took Ymir for personal reasons and you for...political reasons.'' He said slyly. ''We are taking you to Wall Maria where we will meet up with Annie and Eren before going to our home town.''

''Woah woah, Annie and Eren? They are with you?'' Historia yelled in shock.

''N-no...'' Ymir coughed as she returned to consciousness. ''Eren isn't with them, Annie is. Am I right Bertie?''

''...'' Bertolt exchanged a brief glance with his ally and after a moment of silence he replied. ''Yeah, she is.''

Ymir smirked before sitting up against Historia. ''So I take it I am also right if I say Annie is the 'Female Titan' in the Survey Corps reports.'' Once again Bertolt nodded and confirmed her theory. ''So what now? You take us to your home and then what?''

''You will answer for your crimes!'' Bertolt said in a louder than normal voice.

Despite her condition Ymir had to stifle a sarcastic laugh. ''My crimes! What about you guys huh?''

''That's irrelevant now!'' He quickly retorted.

''Wait!'' Historia ordered. ''What crime? What has she done that's wrong?''

Reiner paid close attention to the fact that Bertolt was balling his fists and his jaw was set in firm line. ''She ate Marcel...'' Reiner said with a hint of broken sadness.

''Who's Marcel?'' Historia asked.

''He was our friend, he was sent on the same mission as us and Annie...Until Ymir ate him as a Titan.'' Bertolt explained, as the words left his lips he suddenly found how pointless his anger towards the female shifter was. ''She probably had no idea what she was doing?''

''He was a friend of yours? Sorry for that then, like you said I had lost my mind.'' Ymir said with the faintest hint of sincerity. ''So what about Kri- I mean Historia? Why do you need her?''

Reiner stepped forward, he stared at his Historia with his sunken and scared face before answering. ''She is a...political hostage. With her we can make sure that no one will come after us.'' Bertolt went to add something else to Reiner's comment but quickly went quiet much to Ymir's intrigue.

''Why would the daughter of a nobleman stop an army?'' Ymir questioned.

Once again Reiner stepped forward to answer. ''Because the Reiss family is the true royal family!'' He paused to let the gravity of his words sink in. ''There is no way the 'king' would send an army after us when we have his much needed daughter.''

''W-what!?'' Historia yelled. ''I was told...that the Reiss family was just a rich, noble family.''

''Well you were lied to!'' Reiner shouted much louder than he had intended. ''We were brought up on stories of the greed and selfishness of the Reiss family. What your people d-'' Bertolt stood to his full height, his shadow enveloping both Ymir and Historia.

''Reiner! That's enough, save it for when we get home...We are warriors, not angry children.'' It was the first time that Reiner had heard Bertolt speak with such ferocity. ''Get some rest, we will get moving at sunset...if we hurry we will make it to Wall Maria by dawn.''

''Yeah...okay.'' Reiner sulked as he laying down against the giant tree trunk before he closed his weary eyes Reiner shot another glare at the two exhausted girls.

Once they were sure Reiner was asleep Historia and Ymir looked up to Bertolt with many, many questions. ''Why does he hate my family name?'' Historia inquired.

''...It isn't my place to answer that, only the King knows the whole story.'' Bertolt knew he was a bad liar, he just hoped that they were tired enough to buy it.

''King?'' The curiosity in Historia's tone was a little worrying.

''Yeah...King.'' Bertolt couldn't meet her eyes. And neither could Ymir. ''Look we can explain a lot more when we meet up with A-Annie so, just get some rest for now. Ymir's limbs will heal faster while she sleeps.'' It was the last part of his statement that really caught her attention.

''Fine...Ymir get some rest, now.'' Ymir was quite shocked by the authoritative tone in her newly revealed friend.

''Yes ma'am.'' She huffed before rolling on to her side and within the minute Ymir was fast asleep as her body healed her grievous injuries, Bertolt suggested that Historia get some rest too but she quickly denied saying that she would look after Ymir while she slept. However a few minutes later she too was snoring gently beside her friend leaving Bertolt alone to his thoughts.

''This is one hell of a mess you've gotten yourself into...'' The tall boy huffed, with the others asleep it was up to him to keep watch of the surrounding area. ''What am I going to tell Reiner and Annie when we get home?'' He ran his fingers through his oak brown hair. ''I'll figure it out once we get there...'' Part of Bertolt knew he was lying, there was no way that the blond block head would let that happen. At the thought of his comical oaf of a friend Bertolt's exhausted light up slightly and as his thoughts drifted back to happier memories the Colossal Titan drifted into a strangely peaceful for the broken teenager.

* * *

''BERTOLT! WAKE UP.'' Reiner's roar immediately and violently shook the boy from his slumber. ''YOU FELL ASLEEP AND NOW LOOK!'' Through the blurry vision of his still adjusting he could still easily make out the giant frames of several Titans that had surrounded their trees.

''Hey hey, crippled girl trying to sleep here!'' Ymir growled. As it turned out she was no longer disarmed, both her arm and her leg had fully regrown and the damage to her internal organs had been completely repaired.

''Both of you need to get up now!'' Bertolt shouted.

With the sudden addition of Bertolt's voice ringing in her ears Ymir finally stirred from her deep sleep. ''What the hell!?'' She shrieked as her eyes too focused on the surrounding attackers. ''Oi Historia...wake up.'' Ymir gently jabbed her friend in the shoulder to rouse her from her dreamless rest.

''Wh-what is it?'' The blond girl yawned. Around them were over twelve Titans of all shapes and sizes, ranging from seemingly tiny three meter Titans to gigantic fifteen meter monsters that even Reiner would be wary of.

Far off in the horizon the sun was beginning to gently caress the mountains as it dipped below the horizon. ''It's almost sunset, if we make a move soon they shouldn't be able to follow us.'' Ymir suggested to which Reiner quickly disagreed.

''These Titans are different remember? They could move around freely at night. If I shifted now then we would get overrun within seconds, if only we had our damn maneuver gear then we could get to the other side of the forest and shift from there.'' Reiner yelled in frustration.

''Well what if I shift and lead them away then you shift and pick me up?'' She shrugged.

''Maybe...but that's really risky.'' Bertolt hummed.

''I take it that if you shifted we would all be in trouble.'' Ymir said as she pointed to Bertolt who just looked away.

An uneasy silence fell on the group, eventually it was Reiner who broke the silence, he rubbed his temples and massaged his eyes before speaking up. ''We don't have much of a choice, Ymir if you shift and lead them away that will give me time to shift and pick up Bertolt and Historia, then you hop on and we run like hell.''

''Sounds like a better plan then getting sweaty to shift.'' Ymir scoffed. ''Fine, I'll lead them away. I probably won't be able to lure them all so make the most of the time you get.'' Historia went to protest but she too knew that this was her best chance.

Ymir ordered Historia to stand back, once she was sure her blond friend was a safe distance away she took the knife that Connie had given her and took a few deep breaths before leaping from her safe vantage point with a single thought in her mind.

_Shift _

* * *

The remaining humans were forced to cover their eyes as the signature bolt of bright lightning ruptured from Ymir's body. The shifter was still exhausted from the trauma she had experienced in the past twenty-four hours but nevertheless she still managed to form a seven meter body, all at once ten of the Titans bellow focused all their attention on the newly formed Titan.

''Follow.'' Ymir was making the best out of her Titan's unique ability to talk.

As the Titans moved on her location Ymir began leaping from tree to tree, her elongated claws digging into the thick branches of the trees with little effort on her behalf.

Once the Titans that were following her disappeared into the distance Reiner sighed and moved into position. ''Let's hurry this up…'' He said softly to himself. Like Ymir before him Reiner too leaped from his perch and as he fell he brought the soft skin of his hand up to his open and waiting mouth.

For the second time in the space of just a few hours the Armoured Titan appeared around the body of the teenage warrior. Reiner felt slightly more resistance from his body once he landed, it felt like something was trapping his feet. After struggling to open his eyes for a brief moment Reiner saw what was limiting his movement.

His giant frame had landed on one of the Titans that was lazily lying on its back looking up at the gathering of prey. Reiner's unbelievably large feet had crunched messily through the chest of the Titan and steam was just beginning to pour out of the wound along with a torrent of boiling, crimson blood.

Reiner watched it struggle and claw fruitlessly against the still scorching hot armour plates of his torso, like all the Titans he had fought this one too had the insatiable bloodlust in its large, empty eyes. _Sorry about this._ Reiner thought right before he raised one foot out of the open chest cavity, he waited a moment more before bringing it down with enough wait to level a castle. Reiner had aimed his strike so that it would crush the neck of the Titan thus killing whatever remained of the pilot. His foot came crashing down on its windpipe crushing it immediately with a stomach flipping snap, seconds later Reiner felt the spine of the Titan shatter into tiny pieces and a moment later the body of the Titan went limp as the life left its giant frame.

The other Titan that decided to stay and monitor the humans moved from behind the tree it was hiding behind, after watching Reiner kill the other Titan this one focused its sights on the Armoured Titan, it approached slowly. Its bare feet created a thundering clap against the dirt of the forest floor. Reiner turned to face his new opponent with determination in his golden eyes.

As soon as the approaching Titan came within thirty meters of him Reiner charged it with all his power. As the distance between them dropped rapidly Reiner dipped his shoulder down as to tackle his target. The Titan showed no sign that it had seen the fifteen meter class had even moved until it was far, far too late.

The first thing Bertolt heard was the sickening sound of the Titans ribcage becoming nothing more than a fine dust as Reiner plowed directly into the center of its chest with a force similar to that which brought the inner gate of Shiganshina. The Titan flew into a great, old tree which shook under the impact. The second thing Bertolt heard was the equally revolting and unnatural sound of its spine snapping in two, while the Titan remained awake the lower half of its body was completely limp and useless.

''Reiner, that will do let's hurry up and meet up with Ymir.'' Bertolt called to the victorious Titan. ''Historia come on.'' He turned to face the stunned girl.

''I still struggle to believe it.'' She gawked before quickly leaping on the giant hand that was extended towards her. Just as Reiner gently placed into the crook of his neck Ymir's Titan appeared from the canopy, just like before she was elegantly leaping between the trees and a moment before she collided with Reiner's Titan he turned his giant back to her smaller body.

Ymir hooked her talons between the plates of Reiners shoulders just as the Titans she had lured away came sprinting out of the darkness of the forest.

''Go.'' The Titan growled. Not waiting a moment longer Reiner ordered his body to start moving, as he built up speed he ejected the armour from around his legs and breathed a steamy sigh of relief as he started to accelerate. In a matter of moments the Titans that were chasing them became smaller and smaller as Reiner headed off towards the horizon and in the next few minutes they would lose interest in his giant frame.

''Reiner, that way.'' Bertolt had climbed up to Reiner's face to make sure he could see the direction that his friend was pointing, Bertolt had previously memorized a detailed map of the insides of the Walls for situations like this. The Armoured Titans pilot shifted their course on to the correct heading before settling into a fast yet comfortable pace, by this time the sun had set completely and the bitterly cold air of the night began to creep in on Bertolt and Historia. Ymir could see that her friend was suffering so she detached herself from her Titan which fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. Her body was still steaming slightly and the heat she emitted was enough to stave off the chilly bit in the air.

Shrugging off Ymir's Titan had helped to no end, despite her smaller size her seven meter body was still a huge burden to bear on his own, without it he found he could run even faster and using the seemingly infinite number of radiant stars that filled the otherwise black void of the night sky it wasn't long before the unbroken ridge of Wall Maria came into view.

''Good running Reiner.'' Bertolt praised as he smoothed his hand over the armoured plates of Reiner's clavicle. By the time they had closed in on the wall the sun was just beginning to rise from below the horizon bringing a much needed warming glow to the exhausted travelers.

Thanks to the bright orange arms of the morning sun, Bertolt's keen eyes picked up on something as they finally came to a stop beneath the great and imposing shadow of the Wall they had destroyed. He could make out movement on the very top of the wall, one, no two people were making their way to the edge of the bastion.

''Oh no…'' He knew who they were and he knew how little time they had. ''EVERYONE! JUMP!'' Bertolt yelled as he leaped down from his friend along with Ymir and Historia just as Eren Jeager jumped from the Wall that had shielded him and his family for so long and with rage fueled tears in his teal eyes he tore the skin and flesh from his hand as he transformed into a being of materialised hatred and unrelenting rage.


	24. Upon the beginning

**Hey there! Well they have finally made it back to Wall Maria where Annie and a very angry Eren were waiting. As you can imagine he won't be very happy. **

**Anyway there is something I need to tell you all. I recently went back and read my early chapters and the spelling, grammar and punctuation was so bad I almost went blind reading it, so I have decided to got back and re-write my early chapters. So do look out for my new old chapters. **

**So please review and PM me with your thoughts on this chapter, so sit back and enjoy the chapter! **

* * *

''EVERYONE! JUMP!'' Bertolt yelled as a striking bolt of lightning erupted out of Eren's body, a moment later the shockwave of his violent transformation hit the fleeing humans, sending them toppling.

As he fell the well rested and newly shifted Titan plowed into the exhausted frame of the Armoured Titan with enough force to shake the ground for miles in every direction around their duel. Reiner raised an arm to defend his body as Eren's fist connected with the extended appendage with enough strength to send him sprawling to the floor.

_Okay Eren, you wanna fight. Let's blow off some steam. _Reiner growled into his worn down and beaten body. Taking a moment to catch his breath Eren focused his burning eyes on Reiner's body before launching a seemingly endless barrage of attacks, Reiner knew he had an advantage. The armour plates at covered his body could weather any strike that Eren threw at him, however. Due to the exhausting trip that he had just endured Reiner's body was near breaking point.

Fifteen meters below their Earth shattering battle Bertolt, Historia and Ymir were running as fast as their tired legs could carry them. ''WHERE ARE WE GOING?'' the taller girl shouted over the deafening sound of Reiner deflecting yet another devastating attack.

''JUST FIND SOME COVER!'' Bertolt yelled as a terrifying roar shook the very air around them.

As Eren's berserk beast of a Titan laid into the indestructible armour of Reiners body, this was a fight of pure attrition. Eren's fists were striking, breaking, regenerating and striking again at a startling rate. As for Reiner, his frame was taking all the strikes Eren could throw without breaking a sweat, deciding to end the fruitless brawl Reiner took a small step back and readied himself for the next attack.

Eren paid no attention to his former friends stance, instead he launched himself at the Titan with a newly healed fist ready to pulverize and destroy whatever it connected with. However, Reiner never gave him a chance. Just as he approached striking distance Eren brought his giant fist back as he prepared to swing his balled hand into Reiner's well protected head when the Armoured Titan ducked beneath his blow before delivering one of his own.

Eren didn't even have time to widen his emerald eyes in shock before his lower jaw exploded due to the shattering force of Reiner's attack. Eren's entire body went to the floor as blood, hot and sticky began cascading from the all too familiar wound.

_Stay down! _Reiner yelled into the thick thews of flesh that held him in place. Reiner went to grasp the back of the momentarily limp Titan's neck to forcefully remove the pilot when all the energy suddenly returned to the rage fueled shifter with shocking results.

Reiner's hand was merely a few feet away from the nape of Eren's neck when without the slightest hint of warning the Berserk Titan sprung to its feet and caught the extended arm, amid Reiner's confusion he took the appendage in one crushing grip and with a single kick sent him crashing to the barren ground.

Not once did Eren let Reiner's arm go, not as he fell, not as he landed. Once the dust cloud that they had whipped up had settled, Eren wasted no time in bringing his foot down on the armour plates of his opponent's chest, using all his godlike power Eren pulled and heaved at Reiner's right arm while pinning him down with his foot.

_Oh no you don't! _The blond boy thought as he used his free arm to grab and claw at whatever he could but as he did something clicked inside of Eren's rage clouded mind.

_Reiner...you and your people made one mistake. _Eren growled as he picked Reiner's body up and in one liquid motion threw him onto his front without ever letting go of his arm. _Your plan was so perfect but you made a big mistake. _Eren had now brought his giant foot down onto his plated shoulder blade. _AND THAT WAS TEACHING ME HOW TO FIGHT LIKE THIS! _He roared as once again his foot came crashing down onto his shoulder but as he did Eren also pulled his arm back at an unnatural angle.

For all his armour and protection Reiner was helpless as Eren pried his arm right out of its socket with a sickening and unbelievable crack. Eren stood away from his kill to admire the disgusting details of his victory, all of the armoured plates on Reiner's right shoulder were cracked and heavily damaged. Reiner parted the plates over his mouth with a burning hiss a thick cloud of steam erupted from his open jaws. Using his still attached arm Reiner raised himself from the ground, but Eren sent him straight back down.

Using his own arm as a weapon Eren swung the decomposing limp like a mace, the splintered shards of armour crashed into Reiner's face, sending an ear splitting shockwave exploding outwards from the conflict.

_YOU WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU DID! _Eren screamed into his giant frame he began senselessly beating Reiner's body with his new weapon, cracks started appearing in both the flailing arm and in the armour of Reiner's back.

The long run coupled with the punishing exhaustion of the previous night and mental strain that burdened him everyday of his life weighed Reiner down to a point where he simply couldn't move. _He's gonna beat me to death with that thing… _Reiner thought hopelessly as more of his armour was stripped away.

Even when Eren's weapon shattered into hundreds of pieces due to the power Eren swung it with, he still kept on beating at his body with his fists. _Die, die, DIE! _Eren screamed and so his Titan roared in uncontrollable rage at the one who stole away his life.

After one particularly strong strike a massive chunk of armour crumbled away, leaving Reiner's neck exposed to the full force of Eren's anger.

''REINER! NO! GET UP!'' Bertolt screamed as he emerged from behind a fallen tree. Hearing his friend's voice filled with such fear spurred Reiner on to fight back, but in his condition there was nothing he could do.

But he wasn't the only one to hear his pleas.

Eren stopped striking Reiner's body and slowly turned his head to face Bertolt. _You... YOU! _

Facing Reiner was something Eren knew he had to do. But Bertolt was different. Since the day that Bertolt broke down the gate of Wall Maria with a single strike Eren decided that his soul purpose in would be to find the Colossal Titan and destroy him until there was nothing left of his body, not a shard of bone or a thew of flesh.

_Finally… _Eren growled with a savage grin. For five years Eren had searched for the beast that had taken not only his home but his mother too and now, now he had found him and he was just a small, mortal teenager.

Eren brought his fist his away from his current target and slowly stepped towards Bertolt, his eyes were locked on the boy as he tripped and stumbled away from the approaching giant. A very, very angry giant.

''REINER!'' Bertolt screamed as Eren closed in on him, his mouth wide and hungry.

_I don't care what we did, I'm not losing anyone else! _His body was weak, his mind broken, his mighty armor lay shattered on the ground but Reiner Braun still stood tall. Eren lunged at the defenceless boy as Ymir shielded Historia from the battle.

Bertolt raised his arm in a pathetic attempt to defend himself from the open jaws of Eren's Titan, as he closed his eyes the smokey eyed boy wondered something as his doom raced towards him. _How much will it hurt? _Thankfully he never had to find out.

Just as Eren was about to crush Bertolt between his jaws a ear splitting sound brought him back to his senses, when he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was the murky gold colour of Reiner's armour.

Reiner had thrown himself between Bertolt and Eren, whose teeth were now sinking into the splintering armour of his side. Even behind the thick layers that separated him from the outside world Reiner could still feel the pain of Eren digging his fangs into his body. Scarlet blood began spurting out of the rapidly increasing number of cracks and fractures that were appearing in Reiner's body.

Using all his remaining strength Reiner launched his fist towards Eren like a missile, Eren's chest shattered like glass as his rib cage exploded due to the impact. As his torso caved in all the air was driven out of Eren's lungs and his teal eyes bulged, the impact also caused Eren to release Reiner from his deadly grasp. Taking advantage of Eren's momentary lapse in power Reiner stood to his full height and kicked Eren in his already weakened chest. A massive dent formed where Reiner's strike had landed that forced Eren to the ground.

_This. Ends. Now… _Reiner huffed as he slowly limped towards the crippled Titan. With his still functioning hand he plunged his fist into the back of Eren's neck, the skin and flesh that shielded parted like water under the power of his hand. _Come here! _Reiner yelled to his slowly failing body.

With a single twist of his arm Reiner pulled Eren out of his Titan body, he was slightly concerned by the resistance he felt as the strings of raw muscle that bound his body held onto their pilot. As he pulled Eren free of his body Reiner felt a sharp stinging pain in the side of his human body. The combined damage of all his injuries had proven too much for his Titan to handle, he could feel the pressure in the back of his neck steadily increasing as his giant frame prepared to eject him. _Not, much...Time… _

Reiner guessed he had only a few minutes at best before his body rejected him completely, with the last of his power Reiner gently lowered Eren towards Bertolt's open arms right at the very moment he was ejected out of his body from the nape of his neck.

''REINER!'' Bertolt yelled as he put his jacket over Eren's limp body. But his friend had already passed out by the time the words reached his ears. ''ANNIE HELP ME OUT HERE!'' He shouted to his ally.

Annie had been too stunned by the sheer violence of the fight to move, she had watched as Eren unleashed her fighting style upon her comrades. _Bet you wished you never taught him now don't you? _Greif hissed with all too much smugness. Annie didn't even take a moment to scald the serpent in her mind, she instead leaped from the edge of the wall with two rusty sets of Maneuver Gear strapped to her back.

Once she landed Annie wasted no time in rushing to Reiner's limp body, his normally stoic face was contorted with pain and the familiar fleshy scars that haunted every Titan shifter alive. After making sure that he was in no immediate danger Annie ran over to check on Bertolt.

''Is he going to be okay?'' Bertolt asked as he propped Eren up against the fallen tree that had shielded him.

''Yeah. Give him a while and he'll be fine...How's Eren?'' She glanced over to see Eren sleeping, he seemed strangely peaceful seeing as how a few minutes ago he was a being of pure anger and rage.

''Reiner did some damage pulling him out, a couple broken bones.'' He paused as Annie handed him one of the spare sets of Maneuver Gear she scavenged. ''I'm just worried about when he wakes up, as soon as he does he will just shift again.'' Bertolt huffed as he hauled the belts over his broad shoulders.

''I had that problem but I talked him round, I can do it again.'' Annie sighed, Bertolt's eye narrowed slightly but he quickly scalded himself for such an immature thought. ''Anyway why did you bring Krista and Ymir?'' Annie pointed to the two girls who were just emerging from their hiding places.

''You were right about Krista, her real name is...Historia Reiss.'' Annie's azure eyes locked directly on the short girl. ''And Ymir...well I'll tell you later, for now let's just get on top of the wall.'' As Bertolt walked away Annie swore she saw a hint of sorrow in his smoky grey eyes.

A loud, pain ridden moan caught her attention, she looked down and saw Eren attempting and failing to stand, all of his attention was focused solely on Bertolt and the unconscious shifter at his side. ''I'm...going to kill you.'' He growled.

''You're in no shape to kill anyone now sit down.'' Annie ordered, her voice caught his attention as he looked up to her.

''What did you expect me to do!?'' He shouted.

''I knew you would fight but I didn't expect you to do that much damage to Reiner.'' She pointed over to the blond boy, one of his arms was a twisted mess of flesh and bone and there was a large scar spanning from the bottom of his neck, over his left eye and coming to a gory stop over his forehead.

Seeing these gruesome injuries caused a savage and wicked smile to grow on Eren's lips. ''I'm going to kill them both.'' He hissed.

''Not now your not. I promised you answers, if you attack me or them then you are stuck here without a clue on how to solve your current...predicament.'' Annie said with ice in her voice.

''I fought Reiner and almost won, I could do it again!'' Eren boasted.

''One, there won't be an 'again'. Two, if you try it you will be fighting me and Reiner... at the same time.'' This seemed to work as the lust for violence that burned in his eyes withdrew slightly.

_Well played Ann. _Greif applauded. Annie was about to tell Eren to wait where he was when Reiner's consciousness suddenly returned to him.

''W-What happened? Where am I?'' His pupils were dilated as he scanned the surrounding area. Annie considered going over to check on him but Bertolt was already by his side, she instead decided to go and see the two passengers that had joined their merry journey.

As Annie walked towards Ymir and Historia the shorter of the two stood from the ground to meet the approaches. ''So, you're the Female Titan who killed all those soldiers?'' She spat.

''And you're a Reiss so we are just as bad as eachother.'' Annie retorted.

''About that, what's so bad about that name?'' Ymir interrupted.

Annie scowled at Historia for a moment longer before turning to the caramel skinned girl. ''It's not my place to say but you'll find out soon enough.'' With that Annie turned on her heels and made her way back over to Eren who was still trying to stand up to no avail.

As Annie walked over to Eren his teal eyes looked past her towards Historia and Ymir, immediately he began to question Annie over their involvement with their group.

''Look, I barely even know the basics but if they brought them then we need them.'' She huffed as Historia and Ymir walked towards them both.

''Why are you guys here!?'' He shouted as he finally stood to his feet.

''Calm down, it's not as if we want to be here.'' Ymir explained as she leaned against the same tree as Eren.

''How did you get here?'' Historia asked.

Eren looked over to Annie who was checking on her gear before answering. ''She took me.'' He spat sententiously.

Ymir craned her head to look at the blond girl before turning back with a sarcastic grin on her face. ''And here I was thinking you two made such a cute couple.''

Eren leaped at the girl but in his exhausted state there was no way he could even lift a hand against her. ''Shut up! You know nothing!'' Eren yelled.

Ymir shrugged her shoulders before answering. ''You'd be surprised how much I know, for example, I know that Bertolt is hiding something other than being humanity's greatest threat. I know that their 'king' is a veritable god and I know that you are going to spend the foreseeable future trying the slit their throats.'' Eren stood there, his jaw hanging open. During their three years of training he had never once spoken to the tall, tanned girl. Ymir on the other hand had heard each and everyone of Eren's 'heroic' speeches meaning that she knew a surprising amount about him.

''Ymir that's enough!'' Historia ordered. ''Anyway…'' She checked around her before continuing. ''What do you mean Bertolt is hiding something?''

Eren's ears perked up and he too listened in on the discussion. ''It's obvious, when they took us Bertolt seemed very concerned about Reiner from talking the 'greed' of the Riess family.'' Ymir paused to draw breath. ''Look whatever it is Bertolt is keeping secrets, even from Annie and Reiner.'' She was going to continue her theory when Bertolt interrupted.

''We're heading up the Wall, get ready.'' Not once in his short statement did he make eye contact with Eren, he wasn't certain if his heavy heart could stand to carry the weight of Eren's hatred or his sorrow.

Ymir quickly disbanded their meeting by catching up to Bertolt as he went back over to Reiner who was grumbling angrily about losing to Eren. ''Wait up!'' Bertolt came to a stop before slowly turning to face her. ''How are we getting up there?''

''We'll carry you up, first Eren and Historia and finally you, Reiner is just getting his gear on now, he'll take you and I'll take Eren.'' Bertolt explained.

''Is he fit to carry me up? He looks awful.'' She said with little confidence.

''I heard that!'' Reiner hollered as he adjusted his belts. ''Anyway, how did you find this stuff Ann?''

Hearing her being called by her nickname caused both Eren and Annie to ball their fists and in the farthest reaches of his mind...Eren was just the tiniest bit jealous.

''I found them in the barracks, a little rusty but they still work.'' She explained making sure Reiner could hear the frustration in her tone.

''Lets hope so…'' Reiner paused as he prepared to give Annie some troubling news. ''Annie… We saw the King when the Titans invaded Wall Rose.''

Immediately Annie stopped what she was doing. ''Are you sure?'' She hissed, Reiner sighed and nodded, no one but Eren noticed how her jaw was set in a line of anger. ''What was he doing here?'' She demanded.

''I don't know, he didn't even acknowledge us...maybe, maybe he was tired of waiting for us?'' Reiner said solemnly as he massaged his temples. ''We have been gone for over five years now…'' He added.

The three homesick shifters went oddly silent as they thought back to how much things must have changed back home.

''What is your home like?'' Eren asked as he came up behind Annie.

She opened her mouth to reply and tell him of the beauty of the mountains that shielded them and the great river that brought seemingly endless amounts of food and even entertainment, however as Annie went to explain to him the details of her home Greif rose from the darkness and broke the silence that had settled in her head.

_Is this really the time and place? _That's all the snake had to say for Annie to turn around and refocus her attention to the matters at hand.

''This isn't the time, come on.'' Annie did her best to make her voice sound as cold and hostile as possible.

''Fine fine.'' Eren was still struggling to deal with the astounding amount of information that he was being forced to take in.

* * *

By the time everyone had assembled at the base of the Wall it was almost midday, Reiner had almost fully recovered from his earth shattering duel with Eren and had once again assumed the position of authority, a quality that always brought a tiny glimpse of happiness and hope to Bertolt.

''When we get to the top we will begin planning what our course of action will be.'' He explained in his booming voice.

Eren scowled at his as the memories of his big brother figure leading him and helping through the three grueling years of training came flooding back. ''How can you live with yourselves?'' He growled.

''We don't.'' Reiner wasn't sure if Eren had heard him, it didn't matter now, all that mattered was getting to the top of Wall Maria before any Titans turned up.

Ymir sighed once again before hooking her arms around Reiner's thick neck, Eren and Historia quickly followed suit with their respective partners. Each of them ascended the wall in absolute silence, no one could muster the courage to ask the question that was bothering Ymir, Historia and Eren, even the hazel haired boy couldn't bring himself to ask the question that had controlled his mind since finding out about his former lovers crimes. Why?

It was Reiner and Ymir who made it to the top of the wall first, he was quickly followed by Annie and Historia and finally Bertolt and Eren, once they landed Eren immediately got away from Bertolt, he just couldn't stand to be near the one who brought about the death of his mother any longer.

Reiner scanned the area around them, being on top of the monolithic structure gave them all a stunningly perfect view of their surroundings. The sun was well into its clockwork descent towards the horizon, they guessed that there was only three or four hours of usable sunlight left before it became too dark to scavenge for the plethora of supplies they needed.

''Okay this is how it's going to work, we'll split into teams of two and scour the town for things like water and food.'' Reiner stated but Eren quickly interrupted his orders.

''Food, water...It's been five years since anyone was here, all the food and water will be spoiled. I wonder why?'' Even Ymir winced at the sarcasm in his tone.

''I hate to agree with the angry nut case but that blockhead is right.'' Ymir shrugged.

''We were trained to survive, we can hunt using the rifles from the barracks, it worked in Trost so it can work now. Also that river has water in it so we can clean it and use it to cook and drink.'' It made Eren sick to his stomach to hear Reiner talk about their days in training.

''All right captain. Don't get too carried away, so who is going with who? I take it that me, Historia and Eren will be with one of you seeing as you don't want us to...run away.'' Ymir explained, she loved nothing quite as much as making herself sound clever and brilliant.

''That's exactly how this is going to work. You'll be with me, Eren with Bertolt and Annie with Historia. Any problems?'' Reiner said as he pointed to his respective partner.

''Yeah, more that you can count.'' Eren mumbled with balled fists.

''Okay we will meet back here by the time the sun begins to set.'' Reiner yelled.

With that Eren reluctantly followed Bertolt to edge of the Wall and as he stood on the very precipice waiting for him Eren considered pushing him off, normally Eren would instantly scald himself for thinking such despicable thoughts but now with Bertolt…well he indulged himself on the dream of killing him in as many different ways as possible.

''Come on Eren, I know you don't want to but we need these supplies.'' Bertolt knew that he had to be careful talking to Eren, even before he knew who he really was Eren was none for his legendarily short temper, combine that with the almighty power of the Titans and he had a strength that rivalled a god.

''Do you want to know what I'm thinking you flunky?'' Eren hissed as they flew down the fifty meters to the solid surface of the ground.

''Not really…'' Bertolt whispered.

''I'm thinking I should bite my hand right now and shift but you know what? I want to kill you with my own hands!'' Bertolt shuddered at the rage that was radiating from his body.

''Y-you won't kill me, not when I can answer any question you want.'' It was strange for Bertolt to be so authoritative but a part of him genuinely thought that Eren would try something inexcusably stupid and dangerous.

''Well after I get my answers then I'll kill you.'' Eren growled as they walked to the river, it had been decided that Bertolt and Eren would gather some water for cooking and drinking.

''Well good thing you have plenty of questions.'' Eren was disgusted by the fact that he laughed at Bertolt's off hand comment.

''Fine then, what did you feel when I told you about my mother all those years ago?'' Eren's first question was the one that he hoped to never be asked but he knew that this was coming.

''I...felt sorry for you.'' It was a simple answer, Bertolt knew there was nothing he could do in this life or any other to make up for the mass genocide that he and his friends were responsible for.

''Do you know how it feels to watch as you your mother is torn apart as she screams right in front of you?'' Bertolt was wrong, this was the question that he never water to be asked and as he readied his answer he said something to himself that even he never expected to envision to himself.

_Do I really deserve this? _Even though he was almost solely responsible for the deaths of over a quarter of a million people he truly believed that he didn't deserve to have to relive his worst memories.

''I do actually...more so than you.'' He muttered. It seemed that Eren didn't care for his answer, that or he didn't hear him, Bertolt hoped that it was the latter.

Bertolt was so distracted by the heavy weight of being around the one person who hated more than anyone that he didn't realise they had reached the river until he almost fell into the freezing waters below. The river that flowed through Eren's home was always a gathering point for him and his friends, some days during the sweltering heat of the summer he, Armin, Mikasa and the other children would jump from the brick banks to see who could make the biggest splash. To Eren those days seemed like an eternity ago.

The funny thing was that most of those kids they would play with would always bully and beat on Armin at every opportunity but despite their foul behaviour Eren believed that they didn't deserve the fate that figuratively and tragically in most cases literally fell upon area around the coursing river was packed with markets; mainly fish mongers trying to sell their produce. Eren could almost picture it now, the hustle and bustle of tradesmen squabbling for the paying customers but now. The only ones buzzing around the stalls were bloodthirsty crows and a revolting number of flies.

Eren had decided that he wouldn't cry upon returning home, he knew that it would hurt more than biting through his hand, he knew it would weigh him down more than any boulder on his shoulders, that it would tear his heart apart more violently than losing the one he loved more than any other. But despite his promise to himself Eren couldn't help it because before he was a soldier, before he was a Titan, before he was humanity's last hope. He was a teenage boy who just wanted his mum.

The first of many tears began cascading down down his slightly tanned cheeks, every time he dried his reddening eyes a new set of crystal like drops of grief flooded from his eyes as he weeped into the fabric of his shirt sleeve.

Bertolt considered going to his side and resting a hand on his trembling shoulder but he quickly abandoned the idea, in the end he was the one that ultimately caused Eren all this suffering. As the instigator for the chaos that surrounded them he had no right to comfort Eren in this time of grieving. Instead he left the sobbing boy to his memories and went about collecting the gravely needed water, the tall boy took out the pouch that Reiner had given him just before climbing down the Wall and submerged it in the murky brown water, as bubbles of air started to surface from the container Bertolt took a moment to look around at the destruction he had brought about with just a single foot.

Every building that he saw showed at least some sign of damage or destruction, whether it was a single broken window to complete obliteration of the entire structure, not a single home, stable or store had escaped the vicious hunger of the Titans. The revolting smell of decay and death filled his nostrils as his eyes focused on the mangled and heavily decomposed remains of a child, the state of the body was such a vomit inducing sight that Bertolt couldn't even tell if it was a boy or girl, who ever it was had not died pleasantly, their misshapen mouth was contorted in a silent scream of eternal agony and terror. Bertolt figured that the youngling who he guessed was no older than ten had been part of a regurgitated mess that were a tragic reminder of the Titans impossible hunger.

But it wasn't the smell that really dug into his already shattered heart, it was the sight of the crows that were flocking around the carcase. The Titans would invade, eat, kill and vomit but the crows. All the crows did was follow and eat. Their ebony black eyes always scanning the area for suffering and death so that they might have their fill, there were at least three of them investigating the corpse for any signs of life to snuff out while another seven of them circled perpetually overhead with a grim green in their eyes.

''HEY!'' Bertolt screamed as he picked up a an apple sized rock and launched towards the frenzied flock of black feathers and bloodied beaks. The sphere of debris hit one of the birds directly in the head causing to fall to the floor as crimson blood pumped out of the newly formed wound in the side of its head, the sticky red liquid mixed with the repugnant bile that coated the little body forming an abominable brown ooze that quickly filled his nostrils with the same smell that haunted him in the clean up of Trost. Bertolt had to turn away or threaten to lose the food in his stomach.

Thankfully when he turned his attention back to his pouch the constant stream of bubbles had thinking into a trickle of tiny pockets of air. Not wanting to spend another second in the presence of this appalling sight Bertolt sealed up his canteen and walked back to Eren, he wanted to look back and say sorry to the body, but Bertolt knew...he didn't have the right to apologise.

When Bertolt made it back to Eren he was on his knees staring up at the sky as streaks of orange and light red began reaching out across the expansive heavens above, his eyes were still red raw from the many tears he shed and his cheeks were stained with the shiny trails they left behind. Upon hearing Bertolt return he craned his head away from the river and towards the approaching boy.

''I have another question.'' Eren's voice was weak but Bertolt could still hear the fire in his heart.

''What is it?'' Bertolt took a small step back to prepare in case Eren attacked him out of righteous anger.

''Tell me about Annie's past.''


	25. Journey of three killers

**Hey its been almost a month since I updated but this chapter took me aaggeess, so I hope you like it.**

**But I have an announcement to make, I have recently been watching a lot of fairy tail and I just love Gray and Juvia so I am writing the first chapter of a story dedicated to them so if you like that sort of thing then watch out for a new story. **

**So in this chapter we learn a lot more about Annie's past so please please give me a review or a PM about what you thought of this chapter, it would mean the world again. And one more thing...9000 views...9000 let the countdown to 10000 begin so thank you each and everyone of you. That's right I'm talking to you. *points* So enjoy and see you next time! **

* * *

''Tell me about Annie's past.'' Bertolt was caught by complete surprise by Eren's question.

''What?'' Eren was forced to suppress a malefic laugh as he saw the dumbstruck expression on Bertolt's face. ''Annie's past…'' As the request sunk in Bertolt's hazy memories of his and his friend's pasts began to clear.

''Tell me.'' Eren growled as he slowly and rather dramatically raised his hand to his mouth.

''I will, if you tell me why you want to know.'' Bertolt retorted.

For a painfully long moment no one moved, even the air around them seemed to still as teal green met smokey grey in a gaze that lasted for what felt like hours.

''I think I have a right to know about the people who stole my life from me.'' The ferocity in Eren's tone caused a chill to dance up Bertolt's spine.

''...There aren't any Titans around, let's gather blankets and other supplies and I'll tell what I know.'' He suggested, Eren looked away momentarily to ponder the compromise. He quickly turned to face Bertolt and simply nodded.

* * *

Annie stalked her prey through the abandoned streets just like the wolves her father had once told about many years ago, during her scavenging trip Annie had found a hunter's shack stocked full of supplies to hunt and trap the various game animals that inhabited the land in and beyond the Walls. As she began prowling the streets of Eren's home she quickly thought back to how thankful she was of her ability to persuade Reiner to give her some time alone.

*Flashback*

Once Bertolt and Eren had left Annie had stormed up to Reiner with only one uncompromisable demand. ''I go alone.''

Reiner saw this coming and quickly replied. ''No, we need someone to watch her.''

''There's no way she can run away. I'll work better on my own and if you or anyone else wants feeding then you'll look after her yourself.'' Annie had calculated that Reiner and the others were all famished, she certainly was, and therefore he would be more willing to let her go alone if it meant she brought back more food.

After a frustratingly long moment Reiner sighed and ran his fingers through his thick blond hair. ''Fine, Historia you stay here and make camp.'' Historia was in no place to argue with the shifter that could at any moment snap and end her life, she just simply nodded with a plain and emotionless expression before turning away.

Ymir however was not happy at the thought of Historia being left alone and she didn't particularly care if Reiner disagreed. ''I never expected you to submit to a blond midget.'' A tiny bit of the tanned girl was thankful that Annie was already out of earshot.

''I could say the same for you.'' He smirked. ''Look the top of the wall is the safest place for her now.'' This seemed to put her at ease slightly as she followed Reiner to the edge of the wall.

*End flashback*

In the run down and ownerless hut she had found a quiver full of arrows and even more surprisingly a still functional hunting bow. _Sasha would kill to get her hands on one of those. _Grief cackled, to Annie though, hearing the sound of her previous ally's name made Annie flinch slightly.

''Don't talk about them'' Annie had hissed as she slung her new weapon over her shoulder. After that single comment the snakes went absolutely silent as the blond girl became the cold, precise and most of all deadly predator that she had spent years refining in the harsh and hostile mountains of her home.

Ten minutes of dull and monotonous tracking later and Annie's ocean blue eyes had focused on a lone and oblivious rabbit.

_Looks tasty, good thing you don't mind killing the innocent. _This time it was Desire that broke the perfect silence but Annie didn't pay even the slightest ounce of attention to the detestable serpent. All her focus was on the prey before her and nothing else at all.

Annie was watching the peaceful herbivore from a shattered window, her keen eyes and ears always scanning her surroundings for any sign of danger, this was her environment, her and her prey no other distractions.

Once she was certain that the rabbit was in striking range Annie silently and elegantly pulled a single arrow from the many she found and clipped it against the taut string of her deadly and accurate weapon.

During her childhood Annie had been taken hunting only twice, once with her father in the dense conifer trees of the woods around her small home and once again during her military training with the 104th.

Both had gone very well, with her father they had quite easily brought down a magnificent stag, he had told the girl that it is very important to kill the target in a single strike so not to make the creature suffer. So as Annie pulled back the string of her stolen bow she took in a deep breath and aimed the head of her arrow just above one of the eyes of the mammal.

* * *

'So...I'm waiting.'' Eren huffed as he stacked up another pile of bone dry wood to take back to camp.

''Fine, Annie is a member of the Leonhart family. A respected family of warriors in our village.'' Bertolt sighed.

''That makes sense for Annie.'' Eren scoffed as he thought back to their many sparring sessions. ''She used to go one about how her father taught her and how pointless all the fighting was.'' He wasn't sure weather to feel sad, or ashamed that these were some of his happiest memories.

''What she didn't tell you is that her mother also taught her.'' Bertolt made sure to hide the hint of smugness that came with the thought of knowing Annie better.

Eren scowled at the taller boy and turned his attention back to collecting firewood. ''No, she, never even mentioned her mother once.''

''Her name was Ilya, she was actually a better fighter than her father.'' The hazel haired boy couldn't hold in a slight chuckle as he drifted in and out of a daydream. ''She was known as the most beautiful and most dangerous woman in the village, anyone who went after was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.'' For the first time in five years there was a spark of happiness in Bertolt's sunken grey eyes.

Eren's gaze narrowed and he stood to face the teenager. ''What happened to her?'' It was the question Bertolt wished he didn't know the answer to.

''She died.''

* * *

It was a good kill, Annie had let her arrow fly with startling accuracy. She had waited with her arrow ready and her bow drawn until just the right moment, until the air was still, until the blinding light of sun was obscured by a lone cloud, until her heart had calmed.

At that very moment she had let her arrow fly. With only a whistle in the wind as its only warning the rabbit had a fraction of a second to react to the sound of the arrow hurtling through the air.

The very tip of her arrow had hit just where Annie had aimed, it went straight through one of its soft brown eyes, before it even had a chance to register what had happened the arrow had already made a clean exit out of the others side of its head.

Annie could almost imagine her father standing over her shoulder with an expression of approval. _Good job Ann. _Her almost happy daydream was interrupted by the painful hiss of Grief. _You just killed yet another innocent being. _

''Shut up.'' Now that her prey had fallen Annie could scold the snakes without scarring her dinner. She quickly exited her temporary hide to collect her prize, it would only take a few minutes for the crows to gather around the carcase.

It filled Annie with a foreign sense of pride to know that she brought down this rabbit in such a clean and deadly shot, the only sign of any injury was a thin streak of scarlet blood staining the worn down brick work of the street.

''Sorry about this.'' Annie hummed as she looped a length of rope around its neck and strung it up with the other two rabbits she had killed.

* * *

''After the death of her mother Annie and her sisters cha-'' Bertolt was quickly interrupted by Eren's startled gasp.

''Sisters!'' He gawked.

''Yeah, she had two sisters. They looked a lot like her actually, she was the oldest of the three as well.'' He explained.

''Do you have any family waiting for you?'' Eren asked, he thought it wise to gather information.

''Yeah, my father, a brother and a sister.'' Bertolt couldn't meet Eren's eyes as tears began filling his own at the thought of his family.

''No mother?'' Eren questioned.

''No...she died, that's how it works in our village.''

''What do you mean that's how it works?'' Eren was struggling to take in the cryptic information.

''That's beside the point, you wanted to know about Annie's past not our...traditions.'' There was a startling amount of authority in Bertolt's tone.

''...Fine, I'll find out soon enough anyway. So...what about that scar on her neck?'' For reasons he didn't understand Eren found himself asking about the spot on Annie's neck that seemingly offered no end of pleasure whenever he delicately kissed the patch of pink tissue.

''Oh, she got that before she ki-became a shifter. Her father believed in a...very practical teaching method.'' Bertolt explained as he folded up a patchwork blanket.

''Ann never really talked about her home, what's it like out there?'' Despite the fact that Bertolt was Eren's target for all his hatred the emerald eyed boy couldn't resist the thought of learning about the world.

''It's beautiful.''

* * *

''Sun's starting to get a little low…'' Annie sighed. _Maybe you should head back to the Wall. _Desire suggested. Annie was a tad worried when she agreed with the most vile snake among the nest in her head.

_Why don't you use this opportunity to take a look around Eren's home? _Grief cackled.

''Why would I want to do that?'' Annie huffed, she was tired from the hunt and just wanted something warm and fulfilling to eat. Yet despite her desire for food and warmth Annie found that she couldn't resist this offer. ''I won't be long…'' The icy eyed girl shrugged much to Grief's sadistic happiness.

Now that Annie was paying attention to the devastated town around her Annie could see the sheer amount of destruction and misery that she and her allies had unleashed upon the innocent people that she would later befriend.

''Why am I here?'' Annie sighed as she passed yet another destroyed home and livelihood that she had helped ruin.

_Don't you want to know about the lives you took? _Grief hissed loudly.

''Not really…'' She retorted.

_Then why are you here? _Grief asked as she looked to her right to see several patches of dried blood that stained the debris covered street. _Look at that house there. _The snake ordered.

What Grief called a house was infact just a messy collection of debris that vaguely resembled someone's home, there was a huge boulder about the size of a market stall lying in the very center of the shattered wooden beams and cracked stone tiles. It didn't take very long for Annie to figure out how it had got there.

_Annie...Do you remember what happened to Eren's mother? _All at once the air in Annie's lungs seemingly vanished as her normally calm eyes widened with shock.

''N-no that can't be his house...there must have been loads of houses that were hit by the debris.'' Annie stuttered.

_It might not be...or it might be. _Grief shrugged. _Surely not knowing makes it worse._

''Let's go, it's time I got back to the others.'' Annie said weakly as she walked away from what could have been Eren's home, knowing she and her comrades caused him this suffering.

* * *

''It's nothing like the land in the Walls.'' Bertolt said with faint stars in his eyes. ''There are no walls at all, you can go anywhere really.''

''Have you seen the...ocean?'' Eren made sure to not look in Bertolt's direction so he couldn't see the happiness in the taller boy's eyes.

''Not personally, but I've known people who have...apparently.'' Bertolt shrugged as he hauled a large splint of wood over his shoulder. ''I've always been one to stay at home rather than going out so see the world.''

''Except when you're killing innocent people.'' Eren mumbled. ''Don't think for a second that I have forgiven you for what you did to my home and family.'' Just then a powerful thought burst forth from his mind. _The basement…_

''I know that, I can never atone for what I did. We never wanted to do all those things.'' The tall boy sighed before raising a quizzical eyebrow. ''What?''

''My basement...how could I forget!?'' Eren shouted. ''I need to go to my house now!''

''Eren don't shout there could be Titans around here.'' Bertolt went to hush the boy before he attracted one or more of the beats, but it was too late.

There were two Titans that had heard Eren's roaring order.

* * *

At first there was a single tremor, then another and another. Annie was well versed in distinguishing the distinct pattern of Titan footsteps.

_One...no two of them. _Grief hummed. _Better get moving soon._

Once again Annie found that she was agreeing with snakes that she would on almost any other occasion scold and hate. Annie knew that she couldn't be wasteful with her supplies of gas, there would be no other opportunities to refill her canisters after leaving the town so she wanted to make sure that whenever she used her precious gear it was only for vital purposes.

Using her impressive climbing abilities Annie quickly and silently scaled the side of a damaged house making use of the protruding wooden beams and supports to aid her climb. It wasn't a very tall house but from its rooftop Annie could easily judge the distance from her current location to the base of Wall Maria. _That'll take a few minutes to walk there. _Grief pointed out.

''Yeah I knew that already.'' Annie huffed as she brushed a wispy bang of her golden hair behind her ear. She spent barely a minute weighing up her options, Annie had killed three rabbits, just enough to feed them all judging by their size. But Annie wondered if she could have gotten more to make sure they all had a vaguely filling meal before the exhaustingly long journey to their village.

_If there are Titans around then surely what matters is getting back to the others. _Annie wasn't quite sure which serpent suggested this but yet again she came to the same conclusion. ''Okay, let's go.'' And with that she was off, the only evidence that she had been there was a single drop of rabbit's blood on the cracked tiles of the rooftop.

On her journey Annie stayed silent, her mind however was buzzing with possibilities and question, it had been doing so since Grief pointed out the obliterated remains of what could have been Eren's home. _It might or might not have been._ Grief repeated. _Either way someone was probably in that house when BOOM! It all came crashing down. _This time both snakes cackled to Annie's disgust.

But deep down she knew that they were right, it didn't matter if it was Eren's home, her assault on the Walls had killed over a quarter of a million people. All of those lost to the relentless hunger of the Titans had loved ones, Eren's case was no different but what did make him different was the fact that he now had the power to take his awful and righteous revenge. _I doubt your relationship with him will hold up against his anger towards you. _This time it was Desire that arouse from the black pit of her mind.

_I doubt anything could hold against his rage towards you guys...especially you. _The fact that Grief was now agreeing with Desire made Annie feel physically sick to her core, whenever the opinions of the snakes coincided Annie could feel her stomach flip. Wall Maria was looming ever closer as Annie sped towards it, being around others was usually a deterrent to the serpents.

After landing at the base of the monolithic structure Annie wasted no time in firing her hooked cables into the side of the wall. With the click of a trigger the blond girl was gone in a cloud of snow white gas, normally she would slow down to admire the view but under the circumstances Annie wanted nothing more than to be as far away from the wrecked town as possible.

It took only seconds for Annie to ascend the fifty meter wall, when she did eventually come to a stop Annie scanned the top of the bastion for any sign of Reiner, Ymir and Historia. In the not too far distance Annie could make out the shape of three figures scuttling around what looked like to be a series of makeshift tents.

''There they are.'' Annie hummed as she began the short stroll over to her colleagues but as she got closer she realised that two people were missing.

_Where are Bertolt and Eren? _Grief chuckled.

* * *

''We need to get to my house now!'' Eren had completely ignored Bertolt's dire warning, all that mattered to him now was finding out what his father had hidden in their family basement for all those years.

''Look we can't do that now, let's just head back to the others and figure out what to do.'' Pleaded the calmer boy.

''NO! I have waited five years to find out what he hide from me, I don't want to wait any longer.'' He roared with his signature fire in his eyes.

''I know but we don't ha-'' The first of many footsteps resonated through the otherwise still air around them. ''Oh no…'' Bertolt swore quietly.

''...Titans.'' Eren grinned, the colour in Bertolt's face drained away as Eren began pulling his hand to his open and waiting jaws.

''No!'' Bertolt hissed. ''If you shift now then every Titan in the city will be coming for you and judging by what happened in Trost that won't end well for any of us.''

This seemed to get the usually impulsive and hotheaded soldier to think, he brought his hand to an abrupt stop as he pondered the weight of Bertolt's explanation.

''How are you going to kill all the Titans if you end up getting killed by them?'' He added. ''Let's go back and figure out what we need to do.''

Eren knew that he didn't have a lot of time before the prowling Titans closed in on their location yet despite his severely limited time he couldn't help but lose himself in his thoughts.

''I could do it…'' He muttered under his breath.

''Eren just think this through.'' Bertolt had raised his voice in an attempt to snap his deluded companion out of his trance.

''I could kill them all now...starting with you.'' For the first time since Eren found out about Bertolt's role in destroying his home and his family Eren looked at him. He really looked at him, there was no bravery or righteous anger in his emerald green irises. There was no rage or brutal fury in his expression.

What Bertolt saw as Eren really looked at him was the incomprehensible sadness that he forced this young boy to tackle head on.

_This is bad… _Bertolt thought, he needed a way to focus Eren on the here and now, he needed something that would bring him out of his trance even if it was just for a moment and in his desperation he chose something that would replace his sorrow with what he hoped to be petty jealousy.

''Don't you want to know what happened between me and Annie?'' As the words left his lips Bertolt screwed his eyes shut and prepared for Eren's immediate retaliation, but to his utter surprise it never came.

''Wait...what do you mean what happened between you and Annie?'' He gawked, his hand dropped back to his side and his eyes widened slowly as he began piecing together the meaning of Bertolt's words.

''If you come with me now, I'll tell you all you want to know.'' It certainly wasn't the reaction he had expected but it was the one he had hoped for.

This time it took barely a second for Eren to furiously shake his head and lead the way towards the unbroken ridge of Wall Maria.

* * *

''What do you mean they haven't come back yet?'' Annie huffed as she hauled air into her exhausted lungs, after coming to the daunting conclusion that Eren and Bertolt had not made it back on time Annie had sprinted towards the camp that Historia had hastily prepared with the supplies that Reiner and Ymir had collected.

''I mean just that, they haven't come back yet.'' Reiner tried to eliminate the worry in his tone but to Annie it was all too clear. ''We heard some Titan footsteps so we came back here as fast as we could.''

Annie turned to Ymir for confirmation of this statement, she simply shrugged her shoulders before answering. ''He's right, the moment we felt the ground shake we ran.''

''Well where are they then?''

''They said they were going to get water, so they'll probably be near the river or something. All we can do now is wait and trust in their abilities.'' Reiner went to rest a hand on Annie's shoulder but she quickly batted it away.

''Fine, I'll help with the camp. You take these.'' With that she flung the string of rabbit carcases at her ally, he fumbled with the thread momentarily in an attempt to make sure that the disgusting ooze that was leaking from the fatal wounds didn't stain his clothes.

''I'll give them ten minutes and then I go look for them.'' Annie didn't care if Reiner had heard her, it was more of an order to herself to make sure that Bertolt and Eren didn't die like Marcel had.

_Why do you care so much? They can take care of themselves. _Grief hissed.

''I don't want to lose anyone else, we can finally go home and if we lose him then it's all over.'' What she wasn't aware of was the fact that Ymir had over heard her little 'conversation' with the utmost of interest and curiosity.

Ymir narrowed her eyes as she pieced together the meaning of Annie's talk, making sure that the shifter didn't notice her Ymir abandoned her half pitched tent and made her way towards the one person she really did trust.

''Hey how are you doing?'' The shorter girl was slightly shocked by the casual nature of the question.

''Fine, I guess. Where are Bertolt and Eren?''

''They haven't come back yet, I doubt that hot headed moron would just come back knowing that there are Titans around.'' She jested.

* * *

It was Bertolt who saw the grisly face of the first of many Titans, he estimated that it was an eight meter class as its head poked around the corner of what Eren had pointed out to be a storehouse.

''Eren! Come on!'' Eren could barely hear him though, his mind was making the impossibly different choice of to either turn and fight every Titan that he laid his eyes on, or to run and follow Bertolt in hope of learning what exactly happened between the two of them. ''Look, if you come now you can always fight another day.'' Another Titan attracted by the dulcet tones of human voices rounded the same corner with the signature bloodlust in its otherwise lifeless and merciless eyes.

_You can always fight another day. Sounds like something Annie would say…_ Eren said to himself as he came to his all important decision. ''Fine, let's hurry.''

Relief flooded through Bertolt's giant frame, he quickly turned on his heels and began sprinting towards Wall Maria and the others. Eren went to follow him but a moment later he hesitated, his home was only a matter of minutes away, the secrets his father had hidden were only a few streets away, the answers that had cost so many lives were so close now. Yet among the voices that were ordering him to go and kick down the door to his basement Eren found something that while he never wanted to believe he was absolutely certain of. He needed their help.

Eren found his energy once again as he chased after Bertolt who was now quite far ahead of him, the Titans had locked onto their prey and had began the hunt for their next meal. _Faster, faster, FASTER. _Eren ordered his legs to pick up the pace and thanks to the three years of punishing military training he went through they did just that, his outstanding resilience and stamina allowed him to quickly catch up to Bertolt and once in earshot he asked a very simple question with a not so simple answer.

''What now?''

''We get to the base of Wall Maria as fast as possible and then climb...hopefully.'' There was little confidence in his plan but Eren agreed none the less.

''I know the fastest way there, follow me.'' Bertolt was shocked by the fact that Eren was taking charge and leading them to safety, that or he was taking them to a dead end where he would turn and kill him. Bertolt decided to trust with the former.

Eren did in fact lead them to the base of the wall following a route that like he said was much faster than the one that Bertolt had planned out, along the way they had lost sight of the pursuing Titans and for a while they were both worried that they might come crashing through the houses that lined the streets but to their surprise they never came.

''We lost them.'' Bertolt sighed as he rested against the very wall that he destroyed. ''Now come on, we have to get up the wall before that catch onto our scent.''

Eren just nodded in reply, he to was exhausted from sprinting through the streets. They rested for only a minute, waiting any longer would be a death wish. Now rested Bertolt and Eren ascended the fifty meters to the top of Wall Maria and once there they realised just how perilous their situation had been. Five Titans of all different sizes had gathered at the base of the wall where the two of them had been catching their breath only moments after they had begun the climb.

''That was a little too close, at least we still have our supplies.'' Bertolt was lying down across the vast surface of Wall Maria, his chest rising and falling as he lungs feasted upon the cool evening air.

Bertolt expected some response from Eren like a sarcastic comment about wishing that the Titans did in fact get him but there was just silence. ''Eren are you okay?''

By the time Bertolt had caught his breath Eren was already on his feet and heading off in the direction that he thought was the way back to their temporary camp. ''Don't you want to know what happened?'' To be honest he was more than a little bit relieved to be free from the bombardment of question that he had been subjected to earlier.

''I want to hear it from Annie not you.'' Eren hissed as he stormed off towards a thin, wispy pillar murky black smoke coming from the fire that the others had started.

* * *

''Look! Here they come.'' Reiner shouted, the others stopped what they were doing to welcome back the late members. ''What took you guys so long?'' Eren didn't even acknowledge Reiner's question, he instead just walked straight up to Annie and asked a very simple question.

''What happened between you and Bertolt?'' Annie immediately knew what he meant and sighed as the memories came flooding back.

_I knew this would come back to bite you. _Desire scoffed.

''It's none of your business, now go help Ym-.'' Eren didn't give her a chance to finish.

''None of my business! Do you know what it felt like to have you tear out my heart?'' Eren couldn't even look her in the eye. ''I guess you never cared for my heart though, not with your precious mission...or Bertolt to keep you happy.'' It was this last remark that stabbed the deepest.

''Oh I'm not going to miss this.'' Ymir had a smirk like no other spanning from cheek to cheek.

Annie shot a glance of pure venom to the taller girl who took the hint before throwing her arm in the air and walking away. ''If you knew what happened to me then you would know that I'm far from happy.'' Annie spat with a voice filled with ice.

''Oh yes stupid Eren always jumping to conclusions.'' Eren shouted sarcastically. ''Well now I do know what happened. Yes your mum died but does that make you so special?''

Annie narrowed her gaze at the mention of her mother, she lunged forward and placed a foot behind Eren's using his own weight against him she sent Eren tumbling to the ground. ''No it doesn't make me special at all and that's the worst bit, the fact that my mother died means nothing at all.''

''Did you hate her then.'' Eren had no idea the gravity of this question.

Annie's icy blood instantly began to boil in her veins, she placed a foot on Eren's chest and steadily increased the pressure. ''I loved my mother more than anyone else, you of people know how it feels to watch them die. But do you know the pain of having to kill them?''

''What are you talking about?'' Eren simply couldn't what Annie meant.

''I was forced to kill my own mother! You're too stupid to understand why but what you can understand is that those feelings of rage and sorrow make you do stupid things.'' Annie paused only to take a long deep breath. ''And in my case I did several stupid things, one of them being that I kissed Bertolt in Stohess.'' This time the heat and anger in Annie's tone faded as she understood the stupidity of her actions. She eased off the weight of her foot on Eren's chest. ''We never wanted to do what we did and the fact that I...failed to become a warrior is a testament to my punishment.'' With that Annie walked off but before she did Eren swore he saw the sheen of tears beginning to form in the corners of her azure eyes.

The construction of the camp had come to a complete stand still during Eren and Annie's heated discussion. Reiner came up behind Eren as he brushed the dirt from his shirt.

''What does your king do to produce monsters like you?'' Eren was slowly beginning to understand that his enemies were willing to do anything to achieve their goals.

''You'll see soon enough…'' They were the only words the Armoured Titan could find to fit the morbid and dire circumstance these teenagers found themselves in.


	26. Around the camp fire

**A/N: Well hello...Firstly I want to say I'm so, so sorry for not uploading in such a long time. I've been working really hard on another project but now I'm almost done with that so I can focus on my one true love, this story. **

**Talking of things I love how about the 10'300 people who have read this story! I love each and everyone of you people, this story has given me a new perspective towards the internet and how kind people can be. I can't say thank you enough. So in this chapter ends of something rather important so if you want to know read on...or skip to the end but I hope you do read it. **

**So enjoy read on and please leave a review or PM me if you have any questions or if you just want to talk about anything! **

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Camping on top of a fifty meter high wall came with several advantages and disadvantages, along with the protection from Titans and the stunning views of the sunset came the problem of the punishing wind and the bitter cold. While their fire was certainly well built it did little to ward off the effects of the chilling gale.

However thanks to the blankets that Bertolt and Eren had collected, the group of teenagers could weather the less than favourable conditions with only a mild sense of discomfort.

''Good job on finding these.'' Reiner patted his companion on the back as he wrapped his quilt tighter around his body, an oddly awkward silence had grown upon the weary band of teens. They were tired, hungry and above all else unsure of their next move. Bertolt, Annie and Reiner knew that they had to get home as fast as possible but when one of the members of their group wanted them all dead, another still trying to figure out why her last name sparked such hate from the shifters and the other was far too mysterious to even begin to decipher.

It was safe to say that the outcome to their current situation was currently unclear.

''Who's idea was it to sleep up here?'' Ymir barked, she was shivering beneath a thick quilt that Bertolt had thrown to her once the cold had begun to set in.

''Well if you have any other ideas of where we could stay that's safe from the Titan, then please enlighten us.'' Reiner sneered from the other side of their weak and wispy fire.

''Look, this is better than nothing so just eat up and shut up.'' Annie was growing increasingly frustrated with the heated exchanges between both Reiner and Ymir. The ice in her tone matched that of the air around them and the two of them quickly fell silent.

Yet another silence descended on the freezing group of people, it took several minutes before it was broken but this time it was Historia who spoke up.

''So now that we are all here, what's the plan?''

Reiner shot her a brief look of anger before sighing and eventually answering her question. ''Tomorrow morning we will begin the long journey back to our home town, it'll take about two or three days on Annie's Titan to get there.''

Eren felt his heart turn to lead in his chest, in less than twenty-four hours he would have to see the Female Titan once again. The same Titan that had brutally killed each and every member of the special ops squad one after another, the same Titan that slaughtered countless soldiers of the Survey Corps without care or mercy. Since discovering that the girl he loved was a monster who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals Eren had formed a mental split between the Female Titan and Annie as a way of coping with the immense emotional torture he had been through in the last three days.

Annie knew that Eren would have a mixed response to seeing her shift, part of her truly believed that he would try to fight her again but she quickly dismissed this thought due to the fact that over the course of the past few days Annie had discovered that despite her crimes and involvement with the loss of his mother, Eren still seemed to listen to her.

_I think you have a pretty good as to why that is… _What Grief was blatantly hinting at was enough to make Annie's stomach flip.

''Don't even start.'' Annie hissed viciously, immediately she looked around her fellow campers to see if anyone had heard her little debate.

They had.

''Don't start what?'' Eren asked with a quizzical look.

Annie glared directly at Eren with venom in her eyes and simply said. "Nothing."

Eren kept on looking at her trying to figure out what was going on behind the sapphire eyes that had captivated him from the instant he saw them. Annie met his gaze. She was more tired than she has ever been in her life and amidst the exhaustion, hiraeth and the daily weight of just being Annie, the armour that usually surrounded her heart was cracked and weak.

And Eren could see right through to her core and what he saw was sadness and sheer exhaustion.

It was the briefest of glances into Annie's heart and her true feelings but while it wasn't for very long but Eren saw all he needed to see for his own armour to fault and shatter. For that instant Eren didn't see Annie as a monster or his enemy he instead saw her a tired teenage girl. Eren saw her as the girl he loved, who he still loved.

_Aaahh...I saw that, did you? _Grief giggled.

_Indeed I did too...and I think she knows it as well. _Desire nodded in agreement.

Hearing the signature hiss of the shadowy serpents quickly brought Annie's emotional shield right back to its impermeable state. Locking Eren out until he inevitably broke down her walls again.

Bertolt had caught wind of Annie and Eren's visual embrace with worry and concern in his own hazy grey eyes, he knew the dangers of their most precarious of situations and the last thing they needed were personal relationships getting in the way of their mission. It had been the same feeling that Bertolt had felt when he first learnt about their most private of affairs.

"We should get some sleep…" Bertolt dropped his gaze and turned to the run down tent that Historia had made while he and the others were scavenging for the supplies that were now keeping them alive.

A hum of murmurs arose from those around the fire and it wasn't long before they agreed with his suggestion. However Historia pointed out a small inconvenience.

''There were only five tents…'' In light of their relative success Historia had failed to mention the lack of a sixth tent, meaning that someone was going to have to pair up. Reiner was tempted to make a joke about Eren and Annie going in the same tent but after considering the effect that would have on Annie, Eren and Bertolt he quickly abandoned that idea in favour for one that would actually help them.

"Someone will stay up on guard for a few hours and then swap with someone else, that way we all get some sleep and we keep safe." While Eren hated agreeing with him Reiner's plan wasn't a bad one. "Now I don't know about you guys but I have a hell of a day, so there's no way I'm taking first watch." Reiner didn't even give enough time for his words to sink in before he vanished inside his tent to get some much needed sleep.

Ymir was also exhausted beyond belief, not only had she shifted which was enough to tire out anyone but she had also sustained injuries that would have certainly killed any normal person. Even as an experienced Titan shifter her wounds were extreme. So it came as no surprise to anyone when she also demanded that she be allowed to sleep without disturbance and that the only one allowed in her tent was Historia.

That left Annie, Bertolt, Eren and Historia sitting around a fire in a silence so heavy that even Ymir would struggle to break it. The shortest among them didn't even take the time to make an excuse to leave, Historia simply stood from the fire and walked towards the tent next to Ymir's. What the others didn't realise was Historia desperately wanted to dive into her companion's tent and be next to someone who didn't hate her, or ask questions about every aspect of her newly revealed life. But. She couldn't, for now she needed to figure out her place in this big scary world surrounded by those who hated her.

Now there were only three around the dying fire, Annie could quickly see where this 'situation' was going and there was no she was being left alone with Eren or Bertolt. "Both of you go and get some sleep, I'll take the first watch." Annie prepared herself for the inevitable protests from Bertolt demanding she get some sleep and to be honest she really wanted to get some rest before the undoubtedly exhausting journey. Yet above all else she needed some time alone to think about what the future and the bracing cold wind was the perfect way for her to stay awake.

As Eren made his way towards his tent he took a moment to look back to Annie in hope of finding some cracks in her armour. The tent was by far from comfortable meaning it took Eren half an hour to fall asleep. Half an hour that he spent thinking about how much he wanted to see Annie smile again. "I should hate her...I need to hate her. She isn't the person I loved anymore." Eren wished he could believe his own lie.

Bertolt was glad to finally to be alone with Annie, despite their current situation Bertolt still found his love for Annie unbroken and undiminished in any way shape or form. Annie however felt very different. The moment Eren left the fire Annie turned her icy gaze on Bertolt. ''Why did you tell him?''

It took only moments for Bertolt to figure out what she meant. ''Oh...you mean that, well I had to tell him.''

Annie sighed and massaged her temples. ''Look that...kiss.'' Annie visibly grimaced at the memory. ''Was a mistake and I never want to think about it again." She knew just how much these words cut deep into Bertolt's heart but she needed to make her position clear.

"You knew how I felt about you all this time. Didn't you?" Bertolt's voice was quiet and weak as a large crack appeared in his heart.

Annie thought back to what Reiner had told her during one of their years of training. _Bertolt cares about you more than anyone...just be careful with his heart._

"Yeah...I do, but I don't have the time to deal with your feelings at the moment." Annie's eyes never left the flickering tongues of the fire.

Bertolt had known for a long time that his feelings for Annie were unrequited but that didn't dampen the pain of her rejection. "I know, I know. You just want to get home like the rest of us." Bertolt then excused himself before leaving and retiring to his own tent. Leaving Annie all alone at last.

_About time they left, we haven't had a chat in ages. _Grief had been waiting since she made it onto the wall for what was sure to be an eventful conversation. _And there's something you know we need to talk about. _

Annie threw a handful of kindling on to fire, she took a moment to listen to the crackingly of the wood before indulging the snakes in her mind. "Whatever it is I don't care." Annie obviously knew what Grief was talking about.

_Eren was looking at you...again. _

"So what if he was, I don't care." Annie hissed, due to the cold weather she was shivering but that cold only reflected in her voice. "Eren can look at what he wants." She added.

_Well he certainly likes looking at you. And I think you like that._

"That's not even funny, I killed his friends. I would be confused if he didn't want to kill me." Annie found some strange to be talking about her own death with such ease and lack of care. But the snakes disagreed.

_You don't think that his feelings have changed? _It was odd for Desire to ask such a powerful question. _That...or you just don't want to think that he has. _Grief had caught wind of the meaning of Desire's conversation. Now that they were talking side by side Annie felt her stomach twist and turn.

"That makes no sense, he should hate me. He does hate me!" Annie shook her head to loosen the grip the snakes had taken on her mind. "Why are we talking about this?"

_Because you're thinking about it. What does that say about you? _

Annie went silent, this conversation was over. She cupped her hands using her breath to offer some warmth against the cold. "A walk could take my mind off...this." With that Annie stood from her seat next to the fire and began slowly walking along the edge of the wall with her hands buried deeply in her pockets. As she got further and further away from the campsite it got gradually colder and darker but Annie didn't particularly mind, the cold sharpened her senses and when you were a lone wolf like her sharp senses were an absolute must.

It had been hours since the sun had set and being so far from the light of the fire meant that Annie was in almost complete and utter darkness, the only luminescence around her was from the moon which was high in the sky, clear from any clouds or obstructions, the light gave a ghostly white glow to everything it touched giving Annie the ability to see quite far beyond the wall on both sides and there was one thing that caught her attention more than any moon or pretty view. Titans.

It looked like every Titan in the city had wandered out from wherever they were hiding and had amassed along the base of Wall Maria, there were at least twenty of them ranging from what Annie guessed to be three meter classes all the way up to several fifteen meter Titans. All of them were clawing at the stone structure desperately trying to reach her but despite their incredibly large brains none of them could see that they were never manage to lay a hand on her.

It wasn't the number of Titans that caught her attention, it was the fact that they were still moving this later after the sun had disappeared the number of Titans that worried her, it was the fact that could still move that really concerned her. ''How are they doing that?'' Even Titan shifters weren't immune to the effects that came with a lack of sunlight, they could still shift and move but their movements were slow and cumbersome. ''This could be a problem.'' She sighed. If Annie was to transform in the morning and carry five other people on her shoulders she didn't want to have to worry about other Titans getting in her way and possibly bringing her down. ''I can't fight very well when I've got the others on my body, I'll go back and tell the others.''

''Tell the others what?'' Annie instantly turned on her heels to see Eren standing roughly seven feet behind her. Annie sighed and lowered her fists, she hadn't even realised that she had raised them in need for possible defense.

''That the Titans are moving even at night, look.'' Annie pointed to the swarm of beasts fifty meters below them.

Eren's teal eyes scanned over each and every Titan he could and with each Titan he laid eyes on he balled his fists slightly harder until Annie could see the whites of his knuckles even in the poor light. ''I could do it…'' Eren didn't even notice that he was raising his hand to his mouth until Annie rushed forward and batted it away.

''Are you mad?" Annie hissed. ''Not only are you outnumbered, but in the dark you won't be able to fight.'' She turned her head from the Titans to face Eren. ''What are you even doing here?''

Eren scratched the back of his neck before answering. ''I couldn't sleep, the thought of going to the outside is just...a lot to take in.''

_Ugh...even when around his enemies he is still sickeningly optimistic. _Grief spat, for reasons Annie didn't yet understand Grief sounded weak and feeble in the light of Eren's energetic and exuberant tone. ''You really care about it so much? Even after learning...all that.'' Despite her hostile exterior Annie was still slightly curious as to why Eren seemed so calm.

Eren narrowed his eyes, the mental fissure that he had formed between Annie and the Female Titan thinned slightly whenever she mentioned the fact that she was the very creature Eren wanted to destroy and devour. ''I used to read this book Armin had about the outside world. I could barely believe any of it.''

''I take it you already asked about the world to Bertolt?'' Annie inquired.

Eren took a step back in slight shock. ''Yeah, how did you know?''

Annie was startled to find that she had to stifle a laugh before answering. ''I haven't seen Bertolt reminisce like that in years.''

''So, have you seen the ocean?''

''My father did once, a long time ago and he told me about it.'' Annie explained.

''So it is real!'' Eren shouted much to the love of the Titans below them.

''Yeah and if you make it through this then you might get to see it.'' With each word of her conversation with Eren Grief grew weaker and weaker as if each word or comment was another injury and as everyone knows, a hurt snake is even more dangerous.

_Annie… _Grief sounded different, the stinging hiss was gone replaced by a gentle but still chilling buzz none the less. _We are still here Annie… _Grief was putting up a desperate fight against Eren's joyful words.

''Well to see the ocean then there need to be no Titans.'' Eren jested pointing to the ruins of his was just what Grief needed to heal the wounds he had inflicted.

_And we know what that involves. You're as much a Titan as well...Those Titans down there. _The strength in Grief's hiss had returned and Annie quickly turned away from Eren. ''You know what that means don't you?''

Confusion washed over the boy as he pieced together the meaning behind Annie's words. ''What are you talking about Ann?'' Eren didn't even notice that he had used Annie's nickname until the dreaded word had left his lips.

It took all of Annie's strength to maintain her composure. ''There's so much you don't know about the Titans but you'll probably learn more once we get home but for now all you need to know is that one day.'' Annie took a deep breath in and Grief smiled the most malefic smile possible. ''We will end up like them.'' She pointed once again at the cluster of Titans at the base of Wall Maria. ''If you continue to use your power then well...one day you won't be able to pop out.''

Eren stumbled back a couple of steps, his breathing quickly accelerated until he was on the verge of hyperventilation, Annie knew that the worst possible thing she could do now was go to him. At this moment Eren's head was a storm of thoughts and voices telling him to some irredeemably stupid things and in his current state he was seriously considering doing them.

''How do I know you're not lying to me?'' Eren's voice was deep with what Annie assumed to be a mixture of unfocused anger and shock.

''You don't know, so you'll have to trust me.'' Annie tried to make sure her tone showed no cracks or weakness.

Eren simply chuckled before looking her right in the eye. ''Trust you…That's funny because look where that landed me.'' The sharpness of his voice cut deeper than Annie had expected and it hurt, despite the armour and the knowing that this was coming it still hurt so much.

Annie balled her fists and started walking back towards the camp and as she passed Eren she offered him one last thought. ''It landed you with more answers then you could ever of hoped for.'' With that she was gone and Eren was left all alone with his thoughts. As Annie silently made her way back to the dying fire Grief was making use of the turbulent feelings now circling her mind.

_He could go crazy and shift you know._

''I don't care now, my father warned me that I would get hurt for building bridges and I am done getting hurt. I just want to go home.'' With the rising anger Grief felt at home as the serpent fell back into the darkness waiting until Annie was at her weakest and most vulnerable before striking again.

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Eren stared at the Titans and the Titans stared back at him. He wanted to bite his hand, be enveloped in the warm cocoon of his own Titan and kill every last Titan he saw. He wanted to do that so much that it hurt.

His hand was already bleeding from the several painful attempts, the minuet Annie had left Eren had torn a chunk of flesh from his palm, it hurt so much but, there was no bolt of lightning, no thews of flesh binding him to his Titan, there was nothing except the blood trailing down his fingers before falling to the hungry beasts below. The second and third attempts yielded the same effect or lack thereof. Eventually Eren succumb to the pain in his hand and fell to his knees, he grit his teeth determined not to give into the agony and cry.

Eren didn't know how long had passed since Annie had told him of his fate, the thought of becoming the very thing he hated more than anything else in this world was enough to send his mind into a tempest of screaming and yelling voices telling him to a multitude of different things, each more stupid than the last. Since discovering his powers Eren had never really had the time to consider what they meant for his goals of destroying every last Titan, he had only seen his ability as a means to an end. But now after Annie had told him that his power would soon be the end of him Eren found the only solid feeling he could muster was confusion.

''I need a clear goal. I have a clear goal!'' Eren once again bore down on his hand, biting and tearing wherever he could but due to his clouded mind the only result of his suffering was more pain and more crimson blood feeding the hunger of the Titans below him. After what felt like hours Eren gave up and fell on his back, his right hand was now a mess of blood pumping from the many self-inflicted wounds and tangled webs of flesh. Only the thinnest wisps of steam were rising from the gore, even Eren knew that it would be hours more before his hand was fully healed.

''She has to be lying, just to make sure that I don't shift and get in her way.'' Eren assured himself, the fact that his hand was still healing at a painfully slow rate was a testament to the fact that Eren didn't believe his own words, but deep down Eren was already piecing together the truth behind Annie's warning.

He thought back to his court hearing in front of Darius Zackly and other important members of the three military branches. He thought back to the account several of the present soldiers had made about his time in his Titan form. ''Immediately after turning into a Titan Eren turned and attacked Mikasa Ackerman.'' When he first heard these words Eren simply refused to believe them as true, even after seeing the scar on Mikasa's cheek some part of him deep down denied the fact that he would ever raise a fist to her. But now, it was all making sense. Eren's original response to the accusation was that he couldn't remember however with this new information Eren was starting to believe that his time was limited. Eren was starting to believe that he was turning into a Titan.

''I'm still a human, I'm still a human.'' Eren assured himself. ''I'm a human who can turn into a Titan.'' As he repeated this over and over again another question rose in his mind, a question that's roots were found in the blurry memories of his father and the needle and the interrogation he went through at Annie's hands. ''What does my dad have to do with this?'' Once again Eren found himself at the same conclusion he found while scavenging for supplies with Bertolt. ''The basement…''

Yet again Eren was faced with a near impossible choice, he could focus all his energy and thoughts on the basement, shift and make it to the basement alone but by doing so he would risk his life not to mention the lives of those that come after him. But if he succeeded then maybe just maybe he could finally learn what had been hidden from him, from humanity for all these years.

After what felt like an eternity Eren begrudgingly came to a decision. ''I'll need their help…'' He was right, as much as he hated to admit it Eren was an absolute rookie compared to the others when it came to mastering his Titan abilities. So if he was going to get to the basement he would need help.

Eren stood from the wall and took one last moment to glare daggers of absolute hate towards the beasts below, he then started walking back towards the gentle glow of the campfire. Eren stuffed his hands into his pockets to fight off some of the cold as he took his time getting back to the camp, as a child he would often sneak out of his home at night to gaze at the stars and while Wall Maria did block some of the night sky he didn't mind. But now he was fifty meters above it all and all he could do was crane his head back as he walked. The sky was just so...large, the stars, the wispy clouds all of it was so large Eren could hardly believe it.

When he made it back to camp Eren found Annie sitting by the fire, she had wrapped her arms around her body to stave off the chill and although he would never admit it he felt his heartbeat quicken just a little at the sight of her hair flickering in the breeze.

''Hey.'' It was a feeble attempt at starting a conversation but Eren didn't want to go to sleep and he couldn't stand the awkward silence that came with being around Annie Leonhart.

''Hey.'' Annie didn't take her eyes away from her fire, she was poking the fire with a thin twig as a weak form of entertainment. Eren sat down on the opposite end of the fire, he knew that it would a disastrous idea if he were to try and get anywhere within four feet of her.

It was here once again, the silence that Eren dreaded, for some reason he just couldn't stand it. He had planned to lead to the subject gently but there was no point if Annie wasn't going to talk to him. ''Ugh, look, I want to go to my basement.'' Eren scrunched his eyes shut in preparation for her icy response.

However Annie simply sighed before answering. ''I had a feeling you would say that, if you want to go though you'll have to go now. It won't fit Reiner's oh so special timetable if you go in the morning.''

''I need to get there…'' Eren reinforced his point. There was no way Eren was going to give up on his request.

''Yeah I figured.'' Annie sighed and stood from her seat next to the fire. ''I'll take you there, but you have a single hour then I'm coming back with you or not.''

''You will!'' Eren didn't mean to shout but being so impulsive meant that he wasn't one for subtlety.

''No need to yell, I couldn't sleep anyway.'' With that Eren and Annie walked away from camp and for a brief moment for Eren at least it felt like or felt close to what it was like back in training. They walked along the wall for about ten minutes until they got close to Eren's home and while they walked in silence it resembled a near comfortable silence.

_His optimism is sickening. _Greif spat but for one of the only times in her life Annie didn't listen to the snake.

''Here, it's...it's here.'' Even in the darkness of night Eren could still make out the layout of his home town.

''Okay, now we need to get down and get down quietly.'' Annie could only imagine what it must feel like to return to your home after being forced to run away leaving everything behind. ''Get on my back, I'll carry you.''

Eren scoffed to this. ''Think you can carry me?''

How many times did I put you on your ass?'' Annie rolled her eyes at the stupidity of his question, but if it lifted his spirits Anne didn't mind humoring him.

''Fine, fine. Just don't say I didn't warn you.'' Eren said as he came up behind Annie, after letting Annie kneel down slightly he jumped up onto her back and to his surprise Annie didn't even twitch under his weight.

''See.'' Annie whispered.

In silence Annie walked forward and stepped off the wall as if it were the most natural thing in the world, they fell for several seconds before Annie fired her cables into the side of one of the cloak towers dotted around the city. With a conservative puff of gas Annie sent them both hurtling in the direction Eren had pointed out.

They landed in near silence as without a word they rushed through the streets and in minutes they had covered the distance to Eren's home without attracting any unwanted attention. They rounded the last corner and Eren stopped in his tracks, there in front of him was his home. Boulder and all.

''I'm home mother…'' Eren said weakly as tears filled his eyes and heart.


	27. Beyond the shattered gates

**A/N: Hello there. Welcome to chapter 27, they are FINALLY at the basement, it was tough trying to figure out what should be in the basement so I hope I did a good job. So read on and enjoy and after you have finished this and if you like Ymir and Krista then go read a story called 'The Maid' by Ostara-san. It is so well written and just pure lovely eye juice. **

**So read on, enjoy and please leave a review. It always makes my day to hear from my readers. So see ya next time!**

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''I'm home mum…'' Eren's voice was weak but in the silence Annie could easily sense his crushing sadness, she considered resting her hand on his shoulder as form of reassurance. But seeing that she helped cause this chaos it seemed slightly inappropriate.

''Are you ready?'' Annie said plainly, she was standing ahead of him slightly, she too wanted to know what Grisha Jeager had hidden from his family and the entire world for so long.

''Yeah, I'm ready.'' Eren had wiped his eyes clear of the tears that had formed and was now solely focused on discovering the secret behind the Titans. He and Annie walked in silence towards the shattered remains of Eren's childhood home, not only were they constantly on the look out for roaming Titans, Eren's mind was rushing with emotions. None more so than greif.

If Annie had spoken up now there was no telling how he would react. He could have broken down into tears, taken his almost justifiable revenge on Annie and the others or just run away and Annie couldn't risk that, not after she had put so much into this mission.

When the gate to Wall Maria had been shattered a massive piece of debris had landed on his home, crushing his mother in the process. At the time Eren was too weak to even shift a single beam of wood, now however things were different. He was stronger, so much stronger.

Upon reaching his house could still make out the gigantic footprints from the smiling Titan that threw the incredibly heavy rubble out of its way as if it were made of cardboard. Eren took a deep breath, he was confident that he wouldn't cry as both he and Annie climbed over the wooden beams and boulders of Wall Maria. It took them only seconds to navigate to field of destruction that had been left in the wake of a single Titan, even with the dirt, wreckage and even in the dark Eren could still make his way around his house as if it had only been a matter of days since he had last been there.

''Over there.'' Eren pointed to a small wooden trap door that had miraculously survived the collapse, they had to move several lumps of rock and wood before the entrance was clear. With a single heave Eren forcefully pulled the door open revealing nothing but darkness, Eren had never been in the basement before so this was all new to him. ''Looks like a staircase.'' He pointed to a series of small stone steps that descended down into the blackness below.

Eren lead first using his hands to feel his way down the stairs and Annie was quick to follow, there was no telling what was ahead of them or if the entrance to basement was blocked or obstructed. Eren's hands pressed against something flat and made of wood, after a few seconds of feeling around the material Eren was confident that it was a door. ''This is it.'' Eren took the key from around his neck and after a few moments of trying to locate the lock he took a deep breath before unlocking the door. ''Annie, you have that lanturn?'' While exploring the ruins of his home Eren and Annie had found a still working lanturn along with some burning wax. It was a lucky find because now more than ever would they need it.

''Yeah.'' Annie brought the lantern to her face and twisted the dial at its base, a spark shot up in the base followed quickly by a weak, flickering fire. ''You sure you're ready for this?'' Annie asked as she held the light up to the unlocked door. Once again Eren took a deep breath before nodding, Annie reached forward and pushed the door open.

Eren didn't even hesitate, he grabbed the lantern from Annie's hand rushed inside. Using the dim light Eren scoured the room for whatever his father had hidden. Weapons? Tools? Diaries? Instead all he found was a series of small wooden boxes against the back of the room, it felt a little underwhelming at first but Eren wasted no time in rushing forward and prying the lid off of the closet box to him. In the many years since their opening the normally sturdy material had rotted to the point where Eren could open it with little to no resistance.

''What is it?'' Annie asked, she was slowly coming up behind Eren.

''Maps…'' In Eren's hand was a roll of age battered parchment. ''They're full of maps.'' He beckoned Annie over to his side. ''Here take this and lie it out on the floor.'' Annie nodded in the dim light and with her free hand she took the map and rolled it out on the stone floor. Although the light from the lantern was infuriatingly weak it was just enough for both Eren and Annie to see the details of the maps.

The first thing Eren did was laugh. Since he could hold a book Eren had always had a furious curiosity for the outside world, he and Armin would spend days upon days dreaming and theorizing what it must be like beyond the monolithic structures that surrounded them. And while it was taboo to even mention the world beyond the walls that was nowhere enough to suppress the childish dreams of two young boys. But no matter how many books they read, or tomes they consulted they couldn't find any map of what it was like beyond Maria's protective gates. Every map they found showed the insides of humanity's territory is startling detail but nothing else.

But now the map on the floor was the direct opposite. On the far right side was a simple curved line showing the unbroken ridge of Wall Maria and that was it, no cities, no rivers, no human civilization. The rest of the parchment was entirely dedicated to as much of the world as could fit. Annie took a moment to look up at Eren and she felt her heart leap in her chest. His teal eyes were wide and unblinking, Eren was spending every available second to analyse the maps, his lips was spread in a smile so wide that Annie was sure that it hurt just a little bit.

Eren traced one of his fingers down what he assumed to be a long winding river that spanned much of the map, he thought back to when he awoke in the mine after learning Annie's true motives and identity. Among the haze of rage and betrayal Eren had taken note of Annie's brief description of the location of her homeland and the surrounding environment. ''Is that the river you told me about?'' Eren sounded like a child who had just opened his birthday present, his voice was filled with so much passion and fulfillment that once again Annie felt her heart skip a beat, much the Grief's disgust.

''Yeah, that must be the river Eve.'' Even Annie couldn't help but lose herself in world her father and mother had taught her about since her was little. ''And that big lake there,'' Annie pointed a body of water so large it dwarfed the ruins of Shiganshina. ''That's lake Adam, we'll be camping on it's banks tomorrow night hopefully.''

''It's huge!'' Before the destruction of his home Eren had never once left the place of his birth, it had been the largest city he had ever seen and now looking at this map there was lakes that made his home look like nothing more than a grain of sand on the beach. ''It's bigger than I ever ima-'' A sudden rumbling sound cut him off, somewhere above them Titans were roaming. Eren opened his mouth to ask Annie what their next course of action should be but Annie quickly silenced him by bringing her finger to her lips.

The unmistakable sound of Titan footsteps continued for several minutes, by silently timing the seconds between footsteps Annie could deduce the speed of the Titan and by listening to the volume she could figure how roughly how close it was.

She raised a single finger indicating to Eren that it was a single Titan that was above them, Annie then slowly and quietly rolled up the map and gestured for Eren to collect some of the others in the various boxes around the room. He nodded before gathering various scrolls of paper from around the basement, Annie knew that a Titans sense of smell and hearing were its greatest assets when it came to hunting. She was confident that being so far below ground and underneath several feet of rock and rubble was enough to mask their scent but what she wasn't so sure of was if the Titan had already heard them.

A few moments later Eren appeared by her side, his arms clutching four rolls of paper in each pit. Annie nodded slowly before pointing to the exit. If they were lucky the Titan would be slow and encumbered by the lack of sunlight but she didn't get her hopes up, after hearing Bertolt and Reiner's accounts of what happened at castle Utgard there was no telling what the Titans would do next.

Moving as quietly as humanly possible Eren and Annie managed to navigate their way to the door and up the stairs without alerting the Titan to their presence, now Annie was crouched down at the top of the stairway and through the field of debris she could clearly make out the unnatural colour of a Titan's skin. Even the dark couldn't hide its freakish pink complexion.

Unfortunately Annie had no way of telling which way it was facing, if she ventured too far out from her cover to gauge its field of vision she could end up walking right into it. Deciding that the only to safely get away was to lure the Titan away Annie reached out and picked up a nearby lump of brickwork, after tossing it in her hand to gauge its weight Annie quickly stood and with all her strength threw the rock as far as possible.

If this Titan was an aberrant then it could possibly have the intelligence to follow the path of the projectile back to its source and in this case that being Eren and Annie, both the teens hoped that this was just one of the thousands of simple minded beats that followed any sound, scent or sight. The rock whizzed past the Titan before crashing through the window of a nearby house, a painfully long moment passed before the Titan reacted, it clumsy walked towards the building in search of its non-existent prey.

Eren sighed a heavy sigh of relief before following Annie through the wreckage of his home and out on to the streets. As the approached the first of many corners Eren came to a sudden stop, he looked back to his home and just like five years ago he made a vow. But unlike five years ago this vow wasn't one of destruction and violence.

_I will come home. We all will. _

There were no tears in his eyes as he ran, there was no need for tears. After all there would be a time where Eren could finally come home, all he had to was survive the days that were to come and that was far easier said than done. The two of them dashed from street to street, from shadow to shadow without alerting a single Titan. It took them almost half an hour to finally reach the base of Wall Maria and by that time the faintest strings of morning sunlight were stretching up into the sky. Without any needs for words Eren hopped onto Annie's back and in a cloud of gas they accelerated to the top of Wall Maria.

Despite the fact that she had someone who was much taller and much heavier on her back Annie still managed to land with an impressive degree of grace. ''We should head back to camp now we have these.'' Eren suggested as brushed himself down, Annie nodded before falling in line next to Eren as they walked back to camp and a very concerned Bertolt.

''You know what's going to happen later, right?'' Eren instantly knew what Annie was talking about.

Before answering Eren took a deep breath and balled his despite the valuable maps he was holding. ''Yeah...I know, this time I'll try not to kill you.'' It was a dry and humorless joke but Eren wasn't yet ready to see the girl he loved transform into his most hated enemy.

''We wouldn't want that now would we?'' Annie had no idea why she was going along with Eren's humor but anything to lift his spirits and reduce the chance of him losing control was a good enough reason for her. They passed the rest of the time by talking about their discovery and what it meant for their journey, it had turned out that Annie was planning to go to the basement weather Eren was going or not, the only problem had been that she had no idea where his home was. ''I guess it's a good thing that you brought it up earlier.''

''Yeah, I probably would have gotten eaten if I had gone alone.''

Annie replied with a dry and cold laugh. ''Probably? You give yourself too much credit.''

''Hey! I can hold my own, I was fifth place if you remember.''

''Yeah and who was fourth place again?'' With each word this conversation was becoming more and more like their last during the battle of Trost.

''Yeah, yeah. I could beat you now.''

''Keep telling yourself that Jeager…'' Annie huffed, a moment later a tall willowy figure appeared in the not so distant horizon. It was Bertolt and he wasn't very happy.

''Where the hell were you?'' Both Eren and Annie were exhausted and having Bertolt interrogate them on what had happened was not exactly what they needed.

''We went to my basement. Is that a problem with you?'' Eren barked.

''It's a problem with both of us.'' Reiner growled as he emerged from his tent, the injuries from the previous day had vanished meaning he was back to full, freakish strength. ''You could have gotten killed and if you haven't realised we kinda need you.''

''Not to mention you could have gotten Annie killed!'' Bertolt added.

''Well we didn't die and we got something very, very important.'' Annie walked forward and snatched one of the maps from under Eren's arm, she thrust into his Reiner's chest and looked up at him. ''See for yourself.'' With that Annie skulked over to her tent in search of some food and water.

Reiner fumbled with the scroll, the instant his eyes focused on their contents his entire face lit up. ''These are maps. Like real maps! Look.'' He showed Bertolt the map, this one covered a larger area than the one before, it showed most of the southern territories outside of the walls.

''Why would your father have these? How did he get these?'' Bertolt pondered, it should have been impossible for someone to get their hands on a map that not only showed the outside world but showed it in such detail.

''How would I know?'' Eren hissed before walking off to his own tent to prepare for the long journey ahead. The moment he left Reiner turned to Bertolt.

''He may hate our guts but you got to admit, he gets results. These maps are gonna save us a lot of time.''

Bertolt didn't want to admit it, but Reiner was right. It would have taken them days if not weeks to find Eren's basement and in that time they most likely would have been killed one of the many Titans roaming the landscape. ''He still could have gotten himself or Annie killed.'' Bertolt almost visibly shuddered at the thought.

''Are you kidding? Put those two together and well...you get results.'' Reiner laughed as he gestured to the scroll in his hand. ''Come on. Let's get ready.'' Reiner called back as he made his way towards the camp site.

By the time they made it back Ymir and Historia were already awake and making their own preparations for the long journey ahead. As he approached Ymir gave Reiner a sceptical glare warning him that under no circumstance she trust him. ''Historia. How're you feeling?'' Ymir asked.

Historia took a large swig from the water container before answering. ''I'm as okay as I could be in this situation. Where do you think we're going?''

Ymir stood to her full height and stretched her arms above her head. ''I haven't the faintest idea but wherever it is the people who live there don't seem to like you.'' She smirked and pointed to Bertolt who was making sure that the fire was well and truly extinguished.

''Yeah… That's just great…'' She sighed.

Ymir came up to her side and rested a single hand on her head. ''Aahh don't worry too much, you've still got me and Eren I guess.'' Historia had two allies and an entire town's worth of enemies. Not the greatest odd for survival.

''Speaking of which where did Eren go off to last night?'' Neither Historia or Ymir had any idea that he was right behind them.

''Who knows?'' Ymir leaned closer with a devilish look in her eyes. ''Maybe he went off with Ann-''

''Don't even start…'' Eren's warning was closer to a growl than his normal voice.

Ymir turned on her heels upon hearing him. ''Oh Eren, we were just talking about you. Care to tell us where you went last night.''

''We went to my basement, we found maps that my father had hidden away. Maps of the outside world.'' It was taking a considerable amount of concentration to talk about to outside and not get carried away.

Historia's face lit up, she too had always wondered what lay beyond the furthest reaches of humanity, but being brought up as far away as possible meant that until that fateful night it seemed as if she would never get the chance. ''What is it like then?'' She couldn't help but at least ask this question.

''You'll find out soon enough because we're moving out now.'' Amidst their conversation Reiner had walked up and waited for the opportune moment to butt in. Both Ymir and Eren scowled at him but all three of the nodded before gathering around at the edge of the wall. ''Okay listen up! We're gonna try to make it to the eastern banks of the river Eve, Annie will shift further along the wall. We'll climb on and she'll climb down and that's it until we reach the river.''

Annie was standing with the tips of her toes hanging off the edge of the wall. Her eyes were closed and she was taking deep breaths but even still Eren decided to interrupt her. ''Are you going to be okay?''

Annie took one last breath before turning to face him. ''Yeah, if Bertolt is the big one, Reiner's the strong one then I'm the long distance runner one. It was how I was trained I guess.'' This seemed to be enough for Eren, he nodded before standing back and making his way to where the others were waiting for him.

Eren, Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir and Historia walked down the wall until they were roughly twenty meters away. Confident that they were a safe distance away Annie reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the only possessions she had taken inside the walls. It was a small silver ring, after putting it on all went silent.

_Run, I have to run. Run. _Annie repeated in her head several times until the orders echoed over and over again. With the flick of her wrist a razor like blade sprang forth from the ring and in splash or blood and blinding lightning Annie was enveloped by the sticky, hot flesh of her all too familiar Titan body.

* * *

Eren screwed his eyes shut the instant Annie struck her skin against the metal of the blade. He had bitten his tongue when he felt the intense heat power of the lighting strike the wall. He had balled his fists when he heard the sickening sound of bones connecting and thews of muscle pulling her body together.

From the moment Annie pulled out her ring Bertolt and Reiner were prepared to hold Eren back in case he tried something life threateningly stupid. But while they feared Eren's reaction all boy could do was watch as he felt his blood freeze in his veins.

From the thick clouds of steam that instantly followed a transformation emerged the Female Titan. Having being forced to shift so much during the past few days meant that Annie felt little to no resistance from her giant frame. She exhaled, long and slowly. The air inside her fleshy shell was hot, thick and sticky making for a few moments of difficult breathing. But after a couple of seconds Annie found her breath and looked around, Eren was looking up at her with an expression filled with so many emotions Annie couldn't even begin to list them.

She watched as Reiner came up to his side and whispered something in his ear and even from her great height Annie could still see Eren's balled fists. ''Hey Annie! You okay?'' Reiner shouted up to her, while human in appearance Annie's Titan couldn't talk so she nodded in reply. ''Good. Let's get moving then.'' Once again Annie nodded before opening one of her massive hands.

Bertolt and Reiner lead the way as they casually climbed onto her palm. Ymir and Historia were next, they both had an intense look of concern on their faces as they made their way up. But Eren couldn't move, all he could do was look up into Annie's giant eyes. No matter how much he willed his legs to move they wouldn't budge.

_Come on Eren… don't make this harder than it has to be. _

Annie moved her hand forward a few feet, a gesture to hopefully encourage him to get on. Everyone was watching him with great uncertainty, there was no telling what Eren would do now that he was faced with the Female Titan once again. After what felt like ages Eren took a deep breath and took a step forward. Then another and another. While it took a long time everyone was glad that Eren seemingly wasn't going to shift. Eventually Eren made it to Annie's waiting hand, he stepped up onto her without a word and the moment she was sure that he was on Annie started to move.

She slowly brought her hand up to her shoulder. Her clavicle was the perfect place to store her passengers in relative safety. Reiner and Bertolt hoped into one of the large slats that spanned her shoulders and torso. Ymir and Historia were much more skeptical of the safety of their transport.

''Just hurry up. You'll be fine.'' Reiner sighed and soon Ymir and Historia were safely aboard just leaving Eren. He was still looking up into her eyes, it didn't matter that everyone was waiting for him. The fissure Eren had painstakingly created between Annie and the Female Titan was blurred to the point of nonexistence. Annie tilted her giant head slightly; a simple gesture but one she hoped would bring him to his senses.

_He doesn't look like he's doing too well to me. _Greif hissed. Annie tried her best not to pay any attention to the snake, she had to give all her willpower to staying in control of her Titan. She couldn't afford to indulge in Grief's concerns.

Eren reached out and pulled himself into an empty opening on her left side. With that everyone was secure and Annie could begin the delicate journey down the face of Wall Maria. She maneuvered herself to stand upon the very edge of the wall before giving Reiner the signal in the form of a slow nod.

''Okay everyone! Hold on.'' Reiner shouted, all at once everyone grabbed hold of the thick cartilage of Annie's torso.

_Take it slowly _ Annie told herself, she knelt her giant body down and willed her fingers to crystallise. A second later a shining veil of crystal grew over all her fingers. There was no way that her passengers could survive if she fell so Annie decided that the best course of action would be to climb down the wall.

Digging her fingers into the otherwise impenetrable wall Annie started the careful and slow descent to the bottom of Wall Maria. With each shift and movement of her body Ymir, Eren and Historia clung on even harder, at any point they could fall over thirty meters to their certain death so they weren't taking any chances. Bertolt however had climbed up onto Annie's shoulder where he was holding on by a handful of the Female Titan's long, golden hair.

After several minutes of climbing Annie had finally made it to the bottom of the wall without any injuries to her or the others. Once at the bottom the set her eyes on Reiner who was holding the maps under his arms, her Titan couldn't talk but Reiner could see the question in her glare perfectly well.

He took out one of the scrolls and took several minutes consulting it with Bertolt all the while Annie was becoming steadily more and more impatient. ''Okay, we should head that way,'' Bertolt reached out and pointed towards a faint outline of what appeared to be a mountain range in the very far distance. The Female Titan nodded before heading off the in direction Bertolt had given her and for the first time in five years Bertolt, Annie and Reiner were heading in the direction of home.

Eren however couldn't care less about what direction they were heading in, all that mattered was that he was outside. The walls were behind him and with each passing second they were growing smaller and smaller. Eren didn't even want to blink, he wanted to spend every waking moment soaking as much of the outside world in as possible. His head was darting from side to side and he was taking hundreds of mental notes about the landscape and how it differed from that within the walls.

Minutes turned to hours as Annie ran at a steady pace, every few minutes she would crane her head around to check both her surroundings and all that were holding on to her. Ymir and Historia were both gawking at the world around them, while it didn't look all too different it certainly felt different. Reiner and Bertolt were tucked away in one of the openings of her clavicle where they consulting the variety of maps that she and Eren had collected the night before. And Eren. Eren had climbed up onto Annie's shoulder to gain a better view, much to Bertolt's frustration Eren was talking to Annie.

It should have taken all of her concentration to focus on running and checking the surroundings but somehow Annie managed to find the mental capacity to not only put up with his incessant unanswerable questions but she managed to listen to him. And it sent her heart a flutter.

_This is wrong Annie. You can't do this again. _Greif warned.

It had been Eren's passion for his cause, his respect for her art and his willingness to learn that had first made her fall for him and fall she did. _I never intended for this to happen. _She replied, it was dangerous to focus on her snakes now as she ran but Annie couldn't avoid this any longer.

_That doesn't matter now. What matters is what you are going to do. _It was odd, never before had Greif actually offered Annie any advice before. _You still love him. _At this Annie momentarily lost control of entire body, her knees buckled and her giant frame came crashing to the floor. A second before she impacted with the floor, crushing all aboard she threw her arms out in front of her.

The crash shook the very ground beneath them and due to the sheer force with which she had landed one of Annie's arms broke at the elbow in a shattering sound that made everyone's stomach flip. ''Oi Annie what the hell was that!?'' Ymir yelled, she had barely managed to catch Historia as she was thrown from her perch.

''Annie, are you okay?'' Bertolt had managed to climb up next to Eren, he rested her hand on her cheek. ''This is because you were distracting her.'' Bertolt shouted to Eren.

''What are you on about? I was just talking to her.'' He protested, all the while Annie was just focused on healing her arm. She could still hear their argument but what mattered now was getting her body back to full strength.

''Well stop talking to her then!'' Bertolt ordered.

''Or what? Come on then you flunky, lets sort this out now.'' It didn't matter that Bertolt was far taller than him, Eren was furious that Bertolt would blame this on him.

''THAT'S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!'' Reiner roared. Using his gear he had come up to Annie's shoulder upon hearing Bertolt's raised voice. ''Annie, you okay to keep going?'' There was a thick pillar of burning steam coming from her right elbow showing just how much thought Annie was putting into healing her arm. ''She'll be fine. Both of you cut it out. We have a lot of miles to cover before dark, so whatever this is don't let it get in our way again.''

Bertolt's fists were balled, there was no way he could win in a fight with Eren. After all he had been trained by Annie but that didn't take away from his want to smack some sense into him. Ymir could feel the direction that this conversation was going, deciding that Eren and Bertolt having a fight while in the middle of Titan territory wasn't a good idea she decided to diffuse the situation.

''Oi Bertolt! Where the heck are we headed?'' In her hand was one of the maps that Reiner had shoved against her chest before he went up to see what Bertolt was shouting about.

Bertolt opened his fists and sighed, he took one last moment to look at Annie's giant icy eyes before climbing down to get their bearings once again. ''He has a point Eren, if Annie was listening to you then she could have lost focus on her Titan.'' Reiner was approaching this situation with a slightly more delicate mindset. Throughout their years of military training everyone in the 104th at some point had learnt just how volatile Eren could be if caught in a bad mood.

Eren looked to Annie's giant face, he was finally learning how to break down the walls he had built between Annie and the Female Titan and just as he was Bertolt had to come a ruin things. Annie had no finished the repairs on her arm and was ready to get moving again. ''Yeah, I get it.''

''Good because it looks like Annie is done fixing herself up.'' Reiner hopped down back to his previous location, Bertolt had found their heading once again and with a single point they were back on course. Eren stayed up Annie's shoulder as she ran. The view was still spectacular and he wasn't going to miss it no matter how much it annoyed Bertolt.

Behind the many layers of bone and flesh Annie was starting to grow tired. She had been running for hours now and the effects of maintaining her current form were starting to show, her breathing was ragged and her eyes were heavy but she could still keep going. Reiner would have collapsed from exhaustion hours ago and they were still making process so there was no point in stopping now, besides there was no safe place to hide from any Titans. But weirdly since their departure they hadn't seen a single Titan yet nor any signs of Titans being in this area.

Both Reiner and Bertolt could tell that something was wrong, ironically the fact that there were no Titans was suddenly more worrying that if there were Titans around them. There was something else that was bothering them as well. Clouds. Over the past few hours black storm clouds had been gathering to the point where they had joined to form an ominous blanket over the sky.

''Looks like it's gonna rain pretty bad soon.'' Reiner sighed, only Eren and Annie had any protection from the rain. Eren still had his cloak from the Survey Corps and Annie was shielded from the elements by the thick layers of skin and flesh between her and the outside.

''Hey Annie, feel like keeping us dry?'' Ymir shouted up to the pilot. Annie sighed from within her shell and brought her hands up to cover her neck and torso thus shielding the others from the rain to come. Moments later came a roar of thunder and rain, a lot of rain.

For Annie the rain came as both a blessing and a curse. Piloting a body of such size for such a long time meant that both her true form and her Titan were growing hotter and hotter with each passing second. The rain acted as a natural coolant, she could run harder and for longer. However, the strength and endless pounding of the rain quickly saturated the ground beneath her feet. Annie could run for longer but she couldn't run as fast without risk of slipping and falling yet again.

The howling winds and pouring rain persisted on for hours more, behind closed hands Eren was growing restless. He didn't care for winds or rain no matter how punishing, Eren had finally made it outside the walls and he wasn't about to waste his time stuck behind yet another barrier.

Eren looked up and noticed a gap between Annie's massive fingers, deciding that sitting around and waiting was not for him Eren climbed through the gap. Outside Eren pulled his hood over his head and climbed up to Annie's shoulder. The weather was truly dreadful, he could barely hear anything over the roar of the wind and the pounding of the Female Titan's feet against the soggy ground.

_Hey Annie. Look who it is. _Grief hissed. Annie tried not to pay attention to the serpent but nevertheless she couldn't help but shift her eyes towards the boy on her shoulder.

''According to the others I'm distracting you!'' Eren was forced to shout over the wind. A moment later Annie willed her giant head to nod slowly. ''What's that supposed to mean!?'' This time there was no response, Annie was just trying to focus on not falling over. Eren was about to ask again when something caught his eye. Something big. ''What is that?'' Using Annie's hair to steady himself Eren stood to get a better view.

_Lake Adam…_ Annie sighed silently. _At last. _They had made it, Annie had carried them all the way to the eastern banks of lake Adam. Almost like an act of providence the clouds had parted, with the storm now passed Annie took her hands away, exposing Bertolt, Reiner, Ymir and Historia to the sight of their camp site.

''Woah… that's a big lake... '' Ymir gawked as she hang from one of the upper openings of Annie's clavicle. To Eren it seemed as if the lake reached over the entire horizon and beyond.

''If that's just a lake… Then how big is the ocean?'' Eren could hardly believe what he was seeing.

''Bigger than you could ever imagine.'' Reiner scoffed as he too climbed on to Annie's shoulder. ''Oi, good running shortie.'' In response Annie shrugged her shoulder cause Reiner to lose his balance. ''Funny!'' He shouted. Annie took them closer to the bank of the lake before kneeling down on it's shores.

Using her hand like before Annie carefully lowered everyone to the ground before making one final sweep of the surrounding area for any roaming Titans. Certain that they were safe for the time being Annie knelt down and closed her eyes.

At once there was a rush of cold, fresh air into the hollow capsule that held Annie's true body. For the first time Annie took a breath of clean air, the thews of flesh that clung to her cheeks held on with great force like a spiders web. ''I hate these things…'' Annie coughed as she pulled against the meaty threads that bound her. After many minutes of struggling Annie finally broke free, she climbed down her steaming body and jumped down next to Eren who was gazing off into the still surface of the lake.

''Hey, how are you doing?'' Eren turned to face her and he was shocked by what he saw. Annie's face was a mess of fleshy scars that any well versed Titan shifter was used to. Her snowy white cheeks were covered in long steaming marks that spanned her cheeks and down to her neck.

''Ugh…'' Annie sighed, she massaged her temples to combat the wicked headache that followed a prolonged shift. ''I'm exhausted if that answers your question.''

''Well, good running Ann.''

''Yeah, I know it was. I have the scars to prove it.'' Annie snapped. ''Sorry, I'm always like this after a long run.'' She sighed.

''It's okay, you were running a long time.'' Eren said. The heat from Annie's decomposing body forced both Eren and Annie to get away from the steaming mess.

Annie went to thank Eren for the compliment when both Grief and Renier stopped her. ''Hey guys, we're making camp. Annie you need to rest, we still have a long way to go.'' Annie simply nodded before going over to retrieve and set up her tent. ''Eren you're on first watch so try not to nod off because we will probably die if you do.'' With that he left, leaving Eren alone.

''Well that was encouraging.'' He sighed. Barely an hour later everyone but Eren was fast asleep. But as they slept all the Titans they should have seen that day were quickly advancing with the light of the full moon to power their ravenous charge.


	28. Six vs the World

**A/N: Well happy holidays boys and girls. This is going to be the last chapter I upload for a while seeing as I'm going on holiday so I thought I'd leave you with a cliffhanger. So if you make it to the end of this chapter please leave a review or PM me with what you thoughts. **

**So I hope you have a Delightful Diwali, a cheerful Christmas, a happy Hanukkah and just a happy new year. Make it a good one. **

**Oh and before I go I want to ask you something. Do you like Ymir and Krista? If so then please go read a story called 'The Maid' by Ostara-san. It is one of the BEST stories I have ever read. So read, enjoy and be happy my lovely readers. **

* * *

Eren was tired, he was so tired. The past few days had put such an incredible weight on his mind that every time he closed his eyes he considered not opening them again. He was finally coming to terms with who Annie really was, it still hurt whenever he thought of her inside of the body that killed so many soldiers but now after learning of her reasons it hurt slightly less. Learning about Bertolt and Reiner's role in taking his life from him was equally as hard to take and even harder to forgive. While Eren saw Bertolt as a weak minded coward Reiner was like a brother to him. So learning that Reiner and Bertolt were directly responsible for the death of his mother was near impossible to forgive. Then there was the basement. His father had maps, so many maps spanning what Eren believed to be the entire world. The number of questions he had were so vast in numbers that Eren kept forgetting some of them, it was likely that Eren would ever find the answers from his father. Days after Wall Maria was breached he had disappeared without a trace. Not to mention Ymir and Historia, Eren didn't even know where to start with those two.

''This is one hell of mess I've gotten myself into.'' Eren sighed. To make sure that he didn't fall asleep Eren had been patrolling the camp site for the past few hours. The moon had provided more than enough light for Eren to look off into the horizon for incoming Titans. With everyone fast asleep Eren could easily shift and disappear into the distance to explore the entirety of the world, but every time he thought of such things he found himself coming back to a single thought, a thought of a person. Annie.

If he left in the middle of the night Annie would likely have to chase him down and drag him to the village, doing so would put her in tremendous danger and the thought of such sent a cold shiver down his spine. Eren smacked his palms against his temples to clear his mind. ''I just need to get to the village, I'll find my answers there.''

''Me too.'' Eren turned on his heels to see Historia approaching.

''What are you doing up?'' Eren still wasn't sure how to act around her since her big reveal.

''I couldn't sleep, besides it's my turn to take watch.'' She shrugged.

''It's okay, I'm not tired either so you should just get some rest.'' Eren and 'Krista' hadn't been very close during their years of training, whenever he saw her wide and gentle smile he always felt as if she was putting it on, like a well rehearsed actress.

''In that case I'll keep you company, I think there are a few things we should talk about.'' There was something about the somber tone with which she spoke that deeply unsettled Eren. An awkward silence fell on the two of them as Historia prepared her first question. ''So what are you going to do when- if we get to the village?''

''Get some answers.'' It was a simple answer for a simple question.

''That's it? They took you for a reason and if that reason justifies the killing of thousands then it might be worth hearing them out.'' Historia suggested, for some reason whenever she thought about what the village of Titan shifters must be like all she found was a deep and strange void in her mind, like something should be there but it was missing.

''You just said they killed thousands. Why should I help the people who killed my mum?'' Eren snapped. ''Did you lose someone because of them? Someone you loved?''

Historia sighed. ''I lost someone but they certainly weren't someone I loved.''

Eren narrowed his eyes at the girl, he sat down and leaned against one of the rocks that lined the banks of lake Adam. ''What are you talking about?''

''I lost my mother, she was killed after Wall Maria was attacked.'' There wasn't the slightest hint of sorrow or grief in her voice. Eren's expression was one of utter confusion, how could she say she didn't love her own mother? Historia took a moment to savour his confusion before laughing. ''Sounds odd doesn't it? I haven't even told Ymir this, but since we have been kidnapped there's no point in hiding this from you.''She took a deep breath. ''I was born in Wall Sina to what I thought was an aristocratical family. I never saw my father and my mother well…'' Once again Historia sighed. ''I lived on my grandparents farm with my mother but we never spoke, in fact I think in her entire life she said only,'' She paused to count silently. ''Twenty words to me I think and they weren't the nicest comments in the world.''

''Oh…'' Eren had no idea that such a little girl could have such a complicated past. _Think about that again. _Without even realising it Eren had turned his head to look at Annie's tent.

''She was a beautiful woman who always wore expensive looking clothing, they say I got my looks from her which makes me quite sick actually. I was brought up by my grandparents and seeing as they were quite busy I spent most of my time reading or looking after the animals.'' Historia explained as she sat down next to him. ''So one day I was reading a book about families and I saw a mother playing with her daughter, now I hadn't even spoken to my mother by this point. So I thought I would try and play with her. I ran up to her and jumped on her lap. Guess what she did next.''

Eren shrugged his shoulders.

''She punched my in the face and almost broke my nose.'' With each word Eren's jaw fell open slightly more until it would go no further.

''That's monstrous!'' He shouted.

''Looking back on it now it was. But at the time I thought it was good, all I wanted was to get a reaction from her and I did. So after I wiped to blood from my face do you know what she said to me?''

Eren shook his head.

''If only you had never been born.'' She paused to let the shock sink in and register on his face. ''Yeah so not the best mother ever, after that things changed. She started going out at night is really beautiful clothes, makeup, the lot. I would often watch her leave before going to bed. I didn't speak to her for years, in fact the next time we spoke was the night Wall Maria was breached.'' Historia paused to take breath. ''That night my father came to my home, it was strange, I had never seen him before. Anyway he is surrounded by these people in long black cloaks and hats, my mother comes running out and she tries to run away but they catch her and drag her back. She starts screaming. This isn't my child! I have nothing to do with this child!''

''What kind of mum would do that!?'' Eren was visibly shaking with anger.

Historia smirked. ''What sort of mother indeed. Anyway my father looks at her and then one of the guys in black and nodds. He pulls out this big knife and brings it to her throat, she looks at me and yells. 'If only I had the courage to kill this child!'' Then he kills her. He turns to me with the knife but my father stops him. He kneels down next to me and says. 'Your name is Krista Lenz.' He spared me and two years later I joined the training corps.''

For a couple of minutes Eren couldn't speak, he had seen first hand how cruel people could be but they were criminals, murderers. This was someone's mother. ''That's…''

''Disgusting? Yeah I figured that out soon after.'' She sighed. I lived my entire life as Krista Lenz, so what does Historia Reiss do in a world where she hasn't existed for for over five years?''

Eren chuckled dryly. ''You get answers. Who ever sent those three seem to hate your last name so I guess you get answers.''

Historia also started to laugh. ''Yeah all we have to do is cross several hundred miles of Titan infested plains. Seems simple enough.'' For the first time since the 'breach' of Wall Rose Historia was having a friendly conversation, instead of a conversation where the wrong answer would likely end up in her death. ''We made good progress today thanks to Annie and according to Bertolt we should reach the village by sunset.''

They soon fell into an oddly friendly conversation and since meeting her all those years ago Eren felt as if he was talking to the real Historia, free of her mask, free of her lies. Eren was thankful that Ymir was fast asleep, there was no way that they could have such a carefree conversation with her about.

''You know Ymir isn't a bad person, she just...takes some time to get used to.'' Historia explained.

''I still can't figure her out, I don't know how you did it.''

''One word, patience. Ymir is an honest person who won't hesitate to speak her mind but she's also clever and knows how to read people really well.'' There was a warmth with which Historia spoke that only arouse when she talked about Ymir.

''Well honest or not she seems to be in trouble with Bertolt and that lot.'' Eren pointed to Bertolt's tent. It had been many hours since they started talking, in fact as he gestured to the tent both he and Historia could make out the faint wisps of sunlight reaching over the horizon. Not only that, they could feel the ground quaking. Eren and Historia looked at each other, both of them knew what was coming. ''Titans!'' Eren roared.

Bertolt, Reiner, Ymir and Annie instantly awoke from their slumber at Eren's yell. ''What the hell are you yelling abo-'' Reiner went silent once he felt the quakes of the ground. ''Oh god…''

''EVERYONE! GET UP!'' Eren yelled as he sprinted back to the campsite to secure the precious maps he and Annie had risked his life for. In moments Bertolt, Ymir and Annie were running out of their tents and packing what little supplies they had.

''How many are there?'' Ymir asked once she had assured Historia was okay.

Annie knelt down, closed her eyes and placed her open hand on the ground. Seconds later her eyes shot open and she stood up. ''A lot, there are so many I can't feel them all. There have to be at least twenty.''

Bertolt's arms fell to his sides. ''It's a herd...a giant herd.''

''What the hell are you going on about?'' Eren shouted as he filled his canteen with water from the lake.

''We call them feral Titans...they look like normal Titans but they have this herd like instinct. They move with each other like one giant monster.'' Bertolt explained as he too started filling up their water containers.

''So you're saying that a herd of vaguely intelligent Titans are heading straight for us?'' Ymir asked.

Bertolt looked directly at her and simply nodded. ''We have about twenty minutes before they get here. We need a plan.''

Reiner weighed up their options, they had five Titan shifters, they couldn't use Bertolt in a fight. Not to mention Ymir and Eren's loyalty wouldn't save them when the fighting got gory. But they needed all the strength they could get. ''We can make it through.''

''Are you crazy!?'' Historia yelled.

''We have four shifters who can fight,'' Reiner looked at Annie, Eren and Ymir. ''Our only chance is to have you shift and push through.''

The rumbling in the ground was strong enough to hear now as the Titans got closer with every second. ''It's our best chance…'' Annie sighed. ''Me, Eren, Reiner and Ymir can shift while Bertolt and Historia ride on Reiner and we push through the herd.''

Ymir huffed. ''I guess that's what we have to do. I'm still tired from my last time at the castle.'' She sighed.

''Bertolt, Historia. Pack what we can, the rest of you… Get ready.'' Reiner ordered.

Both Bertolt and Historia managed to pack most of their supplies including the tents and the remainder of their food. Despite her less than convincing size Historia was able to shoulder and incredible amount of weight.

''Their closing in.'' Annie warned after checking the ground once again. ''We need to do this now.''

Minutes later Reiner, Annie, Eren and Ymir were lined up with five meters between them. Ymir had the knife Connie had given her in her hand. Annie had the hidden blade of her ring poised and ready. Reiner had one of the blades from his gear clasped in his hand and Eren had the soft flesh of his hand waiting by his open mouth.

''We do this together. We get through this and we go home.'' Reiner growled. ''GO!'' All at once the bank of lake Adam exploded into several bolts of lighting as the Armoured, Female, Rogue and Dancing Titan rose to fight for their lives.

* * *

Being the smallest among them Ymir was the first to complete her transformation, upon seeing her friend Historia instantly ran forth and climbed up onto her head. While disregarding the plan to use Reiner's armour to protect her and Bertolt it would mean that Reiner would have more freedom to move and fight. Annie was next to emerge from the veritable wall of steam and dust kicked up by the transformations. Being twice as tall as Ymir's Titans meant that Annie could see much farther into the distance. She could just about make out the outline of the tallest Titans that were approaching them. Eren and Reiner were quickly to follow in the completion of their transformation.

There were five Titans standing on the banks of lake Adam as a herd of over twenty Titans rushed towards them. Eren was ready and all he wanted to do was decimate all that stood in his way.

The Armoured Titan knelt down and Bertolt jumped into his open hand, Reiner brought him to an opening in his neck. It was a relatively safe shelter from the Titans ahead of them. It would have to be both Bertolt and Historia who relayed orders to the others as they charged through the obstacles ahead. Like before Ymir's Titan climbed onto Reiner's back before they all began to sprint forward.

The Armoured Titan ran with the Female and Rogue Titan on his sides and soon they could clearly see the veritable wall of Titans in front of them. Behind the many layers of armour, skin and flesh the pilots could only rely on their skills to get them through.

And so a group of battle hardened children clashed with a pack of unrelenting and unfeeling monsters and with their collision came the answer to an unanswerable question. What happens when two unstoppable forces meet?

* * *

Eren's Titan roared as it ploughed through the first few Titans using only his sheer strength to push through the waves of beasts. His fists were blurs as he knocked down Titan after Titan at an incredible rate. To those who watched Eren's Titan was nothing more than a blur of steaming skin and the destructive embodiment of unequaled rage. Every Titan unlucky enough to cross his path was quickly destroyed by either his teeth or fists, Eren was using whatever he could to obliterate the Titans in front of him.

Annie layered her fists with a particularly thick veil of crystal moments before impact. The first Titan she came across was larger and most probably stronger than her smaller frame, it swung its tree trunk like arm in a wide arc to try and catch her head but to Annie it seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. If the attack had connected then it was likely her head would have come clean off but before the strike could land the Female Titan ducked below the attack and rounded on the Titan from behind. With all her strength she shot her fist like a missile into the back of its neck, the Titan instantly went limp without its controler leaving Annie to face the other Titans converging around her.

Reiner had one of his hands covering one side of his neck to keep Bertolt safe meaning that his fighting ability was greatly diminished. Moments before he collided with the ocean of Titans he leant down into his signature charge, Ymir's talons were digging into the space between the armoured plates that covered his body and although it hurt all Reiner could focus on was pushing through each and every Titan that stood between him and his home. Reiner hit the Titans with the force of a freight train causing Titans of all sizes to go flying into the air or be trampled underneath his giant feet like a runaway rhino. The force of the impact sent Bertolt, Ymir and Historia flying forward, Bertolt slammed against the plates of Reiner's palm while the Dancing Titan was forced to dig her claws even deeper into Reiner's shoulder.

They punched, kicked, bit, charged and pushed as hard as they could but it wasn't enough.

A fifteen meter class Titan that managed to avoid Reiner's devastating charge reached out as he passed and clamped a giant hand around Ymir's hair. Instantly she was pulled away from her shield and forced to face an opponent much, much larger and much, much stronger than her while having to protect Historia at the same time.

Feeling the weight disappear from his shoulder Reiner dug his heels into the ground and turned to find Ymir among the crowd of attacking Titans. Which was a bad idea. The instant he came to a stop two ten meter Titans launched themselves at his torso, their combined strength caused Reiner to fall onto his back where several other Titans descended on his body with gnashing teeth and pounding fists.

While Annie found it easy to defeat those larger herself the Titans that were smaller than her fourteen meter body were another matter. She had just used her unique roundhouse kick to decapitate a particularly strong looking Titan when she felt a strange pulling sensation at her leg. Annie looked down to see a five meter class Titan gnawing at her calf, tearing the flesh from her bones. Using her hardened fists like wrecking balls she quickly crushed its skull like cardboard but the damage had already been done. Her left leg was limp and useless.

_It must have torn a tendon! _Annie thought, the snakes that plagued her were absolutely silent, this was no time for emotion, this was the time to fight and survive. She craned her giant head up and saw three Titans of various sizes closing in on her. _This is going to be bloody. _

Eren had no armour, he had no crystal, he had no claws. Out of all of them he was the weakest and easiest to take down. His enormous frame had already taken a colossal beating, both a leg and an arm had been broken and there was no telling how long it would take to heal such wounds. His breathing was ragged but behind the thick layers of muscle tissue Eren's true body was smiling, this is exactly what he wanted deep down. Him verses Titans. So simple and yet so satisfying and with each passing second the thews of flesh that clung to his face and body held on slightly harder. A single Titan of equal height lunged towards him, using his free arm Eren caught the attacker by the face. The Titan clawed and bit at his arm but to no avail, Eren used every ounce of strength he could muster and in a gory explosion of blood and shattered bone he crush it's skull using nothing but his bare hand. As its decapitated body fell to the ground Eren roared a roar that shook the very earth.

_COME ON THEN YOU FILTHY MONSTERS! _Eren yelled into the hot darkness that enveloped him.

Ymir and Historia were lost in the sea of Titans, from inside her cocoon Ymir could hear the screams of her closest partner as she was tossed to and fro. _I need to get somewhere where I can fight! _

''H...Hold...On.'' The Dancing Titan spoke in a voice that sounded as if she had been eating gravel but to Historia it was all she needed to hear. She gritted her teeth and strengthened her hold on Ymir's hair. The Dancing Titan used her fangs to tear away the hand that had grabbed onto her arm among the madness that surrounded them. Free from the grasp of the Titan Ymir used her powerful legs to launch herself into the air, she landed on the head of elven meter Titan and continued to jump from Titan to Titan until she came across a clearing. There she gathered her breath and healed her wounds before looking up at Historia, the tiny human smirked a devilish smirk and nodded before Ymir threw herself back into the fray.

Far away Reiner was struggling against the increasing number of Titans that were piling on top of him. Somehow he had managed to keep Bertolt safe during the onslaught but he could feel his strength slipping away with each passing second. He had only one fist to use to bat away any Titans that entered his range and while it helped it wasn't enough to save both him and Bertolt.

''Reiner get up!'' Bertolt yelled.

_Easier said than done…_ Riener huffed into the flesh of his Titan sized suit. He could feel small cracks appearing in the armoured plates that were under a seemingly constant barrage of attacks from both teeth and fists, there was no telling how long his protection would last. Reiner shot his fist up in the air with enough force to take the head off of a worryingly heavy Titan, but for every Titan he took down there were two more to take its place. _I can't keep him safe! _Slowly but surely Reiner could feel Titans prying at his hand, trying to pull away the only protection Bertolt had. _Someone...anyone please help! _

All of a sudden the crushing weight on his chest vanished and Reiner quickly stood to gauge the situation. The Berserk Titan had sprinted at full speed into the writhing collection of Titans around Reiner's body. He had hit them with such force that they had been sent sprawling, Eren had healed his wounds and for now at least was back to full strength. _We need to regroup. _Reiner thought, the instant the battle started they all fought their own opponents and they had all been quickly overwhelmed.

Seeing Eren sprint past her Annie ordered her body to follow him and soon came across the beaten and broken Armoured Titan. Ymir wasn't far behind, her agility and speed let her cross the battlefield with absolute ease. Finally the group were reunited. There were still so may Titans to face but now they were together and for once it felt as if they were going to make it.

Eren craned his giant head to face Annie who was standing at his side, the expression in his eyes told Annie all she needed to know. They both ran forward and to clear a path for the weekend and vulnerable Armoured Titan.

The first Titan raised its fist and aimed it at Annie who had pulled ahead, she moved like liquid and ducked beneath the strike and hooked an arm around its neck in a powerful choke hold. Eren came up and by swinging his arm in a devastating arc he took its head off in a sickening crunch of broken bones and torn flesh.

In the bloody aftermath of the defeat another Titan lunged at Eren, moments before it bore into his body Annie shot a deadly kick into its side. Her foot disappeared into the side of it's torso, without waiting to see the reaction of the Titan she pulled her foot out and closed her open hands around its spine.

Squeezing with all her power each of the vertebrate in it's spine cracked, popped and exploded. The Titan instantly went limp leaving Eren to hold off the two smaller Titans that were rapidly approaching Annie as she delivered the final blow to the crippled Titan. They were working in perfect timing with one another and the results were clear to see. In their wake they left a trail of bloody and broken corpses of Titan's foolish enough to get in their way.

It seemed as though their survival was assured; in reality, this was far from the truth. Eren had expended far too much energy over the past few minutes, his movements were becoming sluggish and sloppy. A Titan appeared by his side and grabbed a fistful of his chocolate brown hair as he ran. Eren turned on the beast and went to deliver a right hook that would surely break its grip when yet another Titan speared his exposed side sending him crashing to the floor.

His Titan form had taken too much of a beating over the course of the battle. Upon impacting on the ground Eren felt the strings of flesh instantly release from his face and body. A rush of hot gas signified that an opening had appeared in his meaty shell. _Why now of all times!? _He thought as he pulled himself free.

Around his steaming corpse Titans of all sizes were gathering to feast on the remains, including Eren.

Though it pained him greatly Eren looked around his surroundings and saw that no one was going to be able to help him. Reiner was pushing through a group of three ten meter Titans that were fruitlessly clawing at his armour, Ymir and Historia were attempting to clear a path for him by either distracting or killing any Titans in his path and Annie. Annie was single handedly holding off five Titans at once, her fists were a blur of shining crystal and boiling blood.

He was alone as Titans crawled towards him and he wouldn't have it any other way.

''COME YOU DISGUSTING MONSTERS!'' Eren screamed, he raised his fist to intercept the open hand of an eleven meter class Titan. His fate seemed sealed, his death seemed assured and yet there was a sadistic smile on his lips as he fought against his most certain death.

Moments before the first Titan grabbed him Eren slammed his fist against the open palm of the Titan and screamed and as the scream left his lungs Eren unleashed a power that could rival a god's.

Annie, Reiner, Bertolt and Ymir felt the air around them burn and crackle while Historia felt an intense and acute pain echo through her head, as if something repressed or hidden was finally coming to the surface.

It felt as if time had come to a stand still, Eren had punched the Titan's hand with all the pathetic strength he had but it was his roar that held the true power. All around them every Titan stopped moving like they had been turned to stone. Eren could hardly believe what he was seeing, they were looking at him but they weren't attacking. Their eyes were wide like a doting puppy waiting for an order from its master.

''What the…'' Eren gawked.

Then the Titan had been only feet from grabbing him retracted it's hand and stood to its dizzying full height, it then turned around and with all its unnatural power it swung a single fist into the Titan next to it. Both the attacking fist and the head were reduced to shattered fragments of bone and torn strings of flesh as a result of the strike and it wasn't the only Titan to turn on its own kind. Every last Titan in the entire herd began attacking every other Titan around itself with a single intent. Kill.

The other shifters looked around them in complete awe and disbelief. All around them Titans were killing other Titans at a startling speed. Even the Titans that had been attack Annie, Reiner and Ymir had given up their assault in favour of their seemingly more pressing directive. However it quickly became apparent that they weren't just killing one another.

''Oh god…'' Bertolt gasped. Having emerged from behind Reiner's hand the first thing he had seen was a ten meter class Titan sink its teeth into the neck of a much smaller Titan. ''They're eating each other…''

Around them every Titan was doing whatever they could to devour the closest Titan to them. It wasn't long before the ground was soaked with pools of steaming blood and veritable mountains of decomposing skeletons of fallen Titans. All Reiner, Annie, Bertolt, Ymir, Historia and Eren could do was watch as the Titans slaughtered themselves until none remained.

Once the bloody conflict was over everything went quiet, there wasn't a sound to be heard. Everyone was still trying to comprehend what had just transpired. Eventually Bertolt climbed down Reiner's body and ran up to Eren.

''What the hell just happened?'' He shouted breaking the silence.

''I...I don't know.'' Bertolt was concerned by how pale Eren had become, not to mention the fact that his fists were shaking at an alarming rate. ''What...what just happened?'' He couldn't even stay conscious long enough to hear the answer. Just as he collapsed Bertolt rushed forward and caught him. The first thing he noticed was just how hot Eren was, sweat was trickling down his forehead and cheeks and his face seemed red.

''Bertolt we need to get moving!'' Historia yelled as she leaped off of Ymir's back. ''What's wrong with Eren?''

''I don't know, he just passed out and he has a raging fever. We need to get him somewhere cool and fast.'' He explained.

''I looked at the maps, there's a river that flows into lake Adam. If we follow it we can head to the mountains where your village is.'' Historia pointed towards the rising peaks of the mountains ahead of them.

''Yeah that's a good idea. Reiner! Ymir! Get out of your Titans. We can use Annie to take us to the base of the mountains!'' He yelled.

Moments later Reiner and Ymir emerged from the bodies of their Titans in two loud explosions and columns of steam. They were both physically exhausted and were glad for the chance to rest. Annie however was forced to run for another two hours before reaching their new camp site. All the while she was worried for Eren's dire situation. She like the others had no idea what Eren did to those Titan nor what the effect on his body but whatever it was it seemed serious. While running the final stretch Annie pushed both her Titan body and true form to dangerous lengths, once they arrived everyone quickly disembarked, they too knew the strain and pain Annie was experiencing.

Once everyone was a safe distance away Annie simply fell to her knees and collapsed. The others on the river bank were forced to shield their eyes from the massive dust cloud kicked up by her fall. Inside her cocoon of flesh and bone Annie was barely conscious, she could just make out Bertolt's voice as he ran to her. ''GET HER OUT OF THERE!'' He was shouting.

By the time they finally managed to separate Annie from the reluctant thews of muscle that bound her Annie was already fast asleep. Her body had suffered greatly during the fighting and now there were several patches of her body that were enveloped by steam as her body knitted itself back together as she slept.

After quickly surveying the surrounding area for any remaining Titans Reiner returned to the campsite that Bertolt, Ymir and Historia had erected in his absence. ''Not a Titan in sight. How are they doing?''

Ymir sighed loudly before looking over at the two unconscious bodies lying next to the river back. ''Annie's wounds are healing slowly and Eren well… He's not doing so well. Whatever he did to those Titans also did some damage to him.''

''We need to bring his fever down.'' Bertolt added as he laid a wet cloth on his forehead. 'Once he wakes up I'll get him into the river to cool off.''

Reiner came up behind him and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. ''Didn't think we'd see Eve again.'' Bertolt smiled weakly and hummed in agreement.

''What?'' Historia asked. ''What's Eve?''

''Oh. The river, the river is called Eve by our people. It flows through the mountains and our village.'' Reiner explained.

''Speaking of which, how far until we get there?'' Ymir had finished building the foundations of a fire and was just adding what little kindling they had left.

''T-tomorrow…'' Annie coughed. She had finally recovered from her wounds and had the strength to stand. ''We climb the mountains and then we finally get there.''

''Oh great. Even more hard work.'' Ymir huffed. ''As if we haven't had to deal with enough already now we have to climb a damn mountain.''

Reiner fell back laughing. Ymir had a mysterious ability to lighten the atmosphere of seemingly any situation. ''After what we just went through a simple mountain should be easy. I mean a mountain isn't going to try and eat us.'' It was his own attempt at trying to inject some comedy into their bleak situation. There wasn't even a snigger in response to his joke.

Ymir sighed and patted his back. ''Nice try…'' She whispered.

''So what are we going to do about… whatever happened back there?'' Historia asked.

Reiner turned and looked directly at Eren before he slept, there was a strange look in his eyes as if he was conflicted as to his answer. Bertolt could feel his uncertainty and immediately stood between him and Eren.

''Don't Reiner. It's forbidden, the King will know what to do.'' Bertolt's voice was low and deep. A clear warning to his friend to abandon whatever he was thinking.

''What? What's forbidden?'' Ymir asked.

''If I ate Eren then I could take his power to the King. Bertolt if Eren masters the power he could kill us all.'' Reiner pleaded.

''Not going to happen.'' Annie growled. ''Are you an idiot? If you ate Eren then you would have to die as well. Not to mention that _we _can't take the Original. Only the King can.'' Ymir took note of Annie's disgusted tone when she mentioned the mysterious king. Reiner's expression didn't change, Annie sighed as she prepared her trump card to bring him back to his senses. ''What did Marcel tell you?''

Instantly Reiner's breath hitched. He didn't take his eyes off of Eren but Bertolt could tell that he wasn't going to try anything. ''Reiner...the King _will _know what to do. Please trust me.'' Ymir was intrigued as to why Bertolt put so much faith in the King he spoke so highly of.

''Will he?'' Ymir asked.

''What do you mean?'' Bertolt rounded on her.

''Will the 'King' know what to do? I mean you seem to know a lot about the King but the others,'' She pointed to Annie and Reiner. ''They don't seem to have a clue.'' Ymir walked right up to Bertolt, it didn't matter that he was taller than her. She was still terrifyingly intimidating. She leaned in until her face was only inches from his and whispered. ''Is there something Berty isn't telling his oh so dear friends?''

Bertolt stumbled back and looked away from Ymir. _She knows! She knows there's something more! _

''Oi. Leave him alone.'' Reiner growled, he stood to his full height and walked to his side. ''I trust Bertolt over you any day.'' He too leaned close to Ymir. ''Any day.''

Annie however stayed silent, she had always hated the King, ever since she was old enough to learn about him she had hated him with every fiber of her being and that burning loathing was only intensified on the day she received her ability to shift. Annie simply sat down next to Eren as he slept and rested. The atmosphere in the camp was fractured from that point on, Ymir seemed to always have an eye on Bertolt, Reiner was glaring at Ymir at every opportunity and Historia was simply trying to make it through the night without anyone trying to kill anyone else.

*Far away*

On top of the mountains that had shielded his home and his people the King looked down from his perch. Once night fell he found himself drawn to this location in particular. It offered a stunning view any time day or night, not to mention that it was a strategic must that he watch out for any large herds of Feral Titans.

And on this day he had seen a particularly concerning group of the beasts. He was prepared to leap down from the dizzying heights of the mountains when he heard something, something that sent a shiver down his giant back. A roar like no other.

From that point on he simply watched as the Titans tore each other apart in minutes. What would have taken him, a god that walked among men hours took a boy only moments to achieve. ''Hhmm… They finally return. Took them long enough.'' Sighed the Beast Titan as he watched the firsts stars of night twinkle in the sky.


	29. The treasure they sought

**Hello! Firstly I want to say HAPPY NEW YEAR! Anyway a new year and that means it has been a years since I started this story and honestly I am so happy I did. I have made friends, I have developed my writing and I have read some awesome stories all because I wanted to try it out. **

**Anyway please go on and read and don't forget to leave a review or PM me with any questions or suggestions or for a chat. Anywho please enjoy and see you next time!**

* * *

That night Eren and Historia's sleep was plagued with nightmares. Whatever Eren had done during his desperate struggle against his demise had done something to the both of them.

Eren dreamed of his father. He could see him standing in the woods with something in his hand, it looked like a needle of some sort. Grisha's eyes were red raw with tears and it looked like his hands were trembling slightly. Whenever Eren took a step towards him his father did the same, this continued until they were standing right in front of each other.

''Dad! I found you.'' Eren yelled. His father remained silent. ''What's wrong?'' Once again no reply. ''Dad?'' No response.

Eren looked up at his father, his usual calm expression was gone. In it's place was one of hysteria. His breathing was fast and ragged and there were beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. Eren looked to the syringe in his hand, it contained a pink liquid, the function of which was lost to the boy. Eren was about to open his mouth to ask what the needle was for when finally Grisha moved.

Before Eren could even blink Grisha had closed his free hand around Eren's throat. Instinctively Eren began clawing desperately at his arm in a feeble attempt to release the pressure around his throat. He didn't even budge, not an inch. In the corners of his rapidly fading vision Eren could see a figure standing just behind his father, a woman with long black hair that flowed in the wind.

''H-help… me.'' Eren pleaded to the stranger but just like his father there was no response. Hearing his son's voice caused Grisha to move once again, he slammed Eren's head against the ground with enough force to knock the air from his lungs. Stars of pain flashed across his vision but he didn't give up his struggle. Once again Eren reached out to the mysterious figure and begged for help. ''Pl-please…'' As he pleaded the black haired figure started to walk towards him, but she was going to be too late to save him.

The edges of Eren's vision started to fade as his lungs begged and burned for oxygen, whoever was slowly walking towards him was never going to get to him in time. Eren turned his eyes back to his father who was still bearing down on him but what he saw wasn't the man who used to love and scald him as a child.

He saw a Titan.

Where his father's stoic and calm face should have been there was the face of a beast. Gone was his smart, chocolate brown hair replaced by a messy forest of long black hair. His eyes that used to hold so much mystery were now violent pools of burning red focused on the boy beneath him and his mouth was a cavernous pit filled with teeth like rusty nails.

Eren wanted to scream, he would have screamed with all his strength. He would have called for help if there was any air in his lungs.

For reasons that he couldn't understand Eren wouldn't pass out, he wanted to pass out, he wanted to wake from this terrifying nightmare but he couldn't. Eren was forced to watch as the distorted body of his father choked the life out of him while the strange woman approached him.

As the seconds passed by and turned into minutes Eren tried to claw away at his father's arm to release the pressure around his neck. But to his horror Grisha's arm felt like a pillar of stone. At last the lady who had started walking towards them what felt like hours ago finally arrived at his side.

It took a tremendous amount of energy to crane his head towards the newcomer. When he eventually laid his eyes on her he was immediately astounded by her beauty. And familiarity.

Her skin was a perfect and flawless white, a great contrast from her pitch black hair that fell past her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes were a stunning and striking green much like his own.

''Help..me!'' Eren reached out and clamped his hand around her ankle.

Instead of saving him from this nightmare she kneeled down until her face was only inches from his and in a voice like ice she hissed. ''You have crossed the Wall...You are alone out here…'' Then with an explosion of energy she screamed at the top of her voice. ''YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE CROSSED THE WALL!''

Eren's eyes shot open and almost as if a bolt of lighting was passed through his body he sat bolt right up. His breathing was hard, fast and ragged. Eren had no idea where he was or what had just happened but what he did know was that he needed some air and water.

It took him a few disorienting minutes to figure out that he was in a tent and once he was certain he could walk Eren stumbled from his shelter. The first thing he noticed was that it was the middle of the night, while he had slept clouds have stretched over the entire sky, only a gentle glow of the moon managed to seep through the thick clouds. This left Eren almost blind in the night.

While his sight had been reduced to nearly zero his sense of hearing was still perfectly functional. ''A river?'' Eren could clearly hear the sound of running water only a few meters away. Eren instinctively began to run to the water, he had no idea at the time but Eren's body was ragingly hot with fever.

It took only moments for Eren to reach the shores of the river, he didn't even bother to take his clothes off before leaping in the water. Nothing in his entire felt as good as the cold water lapped over his boiling skin, it almost took his breath away how good it felt, Eren didn't want to get out. He washed the water through his mangled hair and down his neck, it felt incredible to finally fight his burning temperature.

With each passing moment Eren felt his strength return to him and as a result his thoughts turned to the torture he had just endured.

Eren knew that it was just a nightmare but something about it felt so real, he could still feel the ringing in his ears from the shrieks of the strange woman. ''What the hell was that about?'' He sighed as he splashed some water across his forehead. Whenever Eren closed his eyes he could vividly picture the horrifying sight of his father's mutated and monstrous face looming over him with rage in his burning red eyes. The thought of which made him shudder in the cold water. However what confused him was the identity of the black haired woman that approached him. ''Who was she?'' He sighed as he threw yet more cooling water over his head.

''Bit late for a swim don't you think?'' Eren instantly turned to find to source of the voice despite the fact he already knew who it was.

''Didn't stop us before.'' Eren was unaware of just how weak his voice was.

Annie completely disregarded his reference to their relationship, she was more concerned by the state of Eren's health. ''So why are you out here?'' She repeated.

Eren sighed loudly. ''I had a stupid nightmare and I needed some air.'' He hated admitting to something so trivial but when it came to Annie he couldn't hide anything from her.

''And some water apparently. How's your fever?'' Annie sat down on the river bank and dipped her bare feet into the water.

Eren swam to the bank of the river and hauled himself up next to Annie. ''I don't know, when I woke up I felt so hot like I was burning. After getting in the water I felt a lot better.''

''After doing whatever you did to those Titans you passed out and you had a raging fever. We took it in turns to look after you, now it's my turn.'' Annie leaned back stared up at the sky. ''Historia was worried once your fever got worse, whatever you did seems to have been really bad for you.''

''But I feel fine now.'' Eren shrugged but Annie wasn't having any of it.

''You're pale, really pale and look at your hands.'' Annie pointed to his trembling hands and fingers.

''It's just because of the cold water, seriously Ann I'm fine.'' Annie felt a small pang in her stomach upon hearing her nickname come from Eren's lips a pang that awoke the slumbering snakes.

''Then why is your face red?'' Annie leaned over and placed the back of her hand against Eren's forehead, she was stunned by the heat radiating from his body. ''Your fever has definitely come back, you're not well and you're getting worse.'' She explained.

Eren batted her hand away and let his feet sit in the water to cool them. ''What did I do then? What did I do that did this to me?'' Eren had been meaning to save this question until morning but now he had the chance for answers and recently answers had become hard to come by.

Annie rubbed her eyes and sighed loudly. ''This is going to make no sense to you but somehow you have the Coordinate.''

''The what?'' Eren asked with a raised eyebrow.

''Coordinate. It's...It's not something that can be explained really. It's the power to control Titans and Humans alike. We don't know much about it but the King knows _all _about it.'' Annie explained. ''It was what we were sent to retrieve from the Walls.'' Annie took a deep breath as she prepared to answer Eren's biggest and most heart-breaking question. ''It's why we attack the Walls.''

For a moment Eren didn't react, he didn't move, he didn't do anything. After what felt like hours Eren looked down at his trembling hands and then back at Annie. In all honesty she had expected him to let his never fading anger to overwhelm him and cause to do something irredeemably stupid and dangerous.

But all he did was look at his hands and then at Annie. ''I...I have it?'' Annie nodded. ''You people killed my mother for a weapon?'' Annie eventually nodded once again. ''All those people you killed, you killed to get to me.''

''It's not as simple as-.'' Eren never gave her a chance to finish.

''Did you!'' Once again Annie nodded.

''Look Eren, it's not as simple as we came exclusively for you. We came for her.'' Anne pointed to Historia's tent. ''Your royal family has kept the Coordinate for as long as recorded history, we came to steal it from them.''

''What does that have to do with me?'' Eren was on the verge of tears.

''You're a Titan Shifter like me, we had reason to believe that you had it.'' Despite the pain it was causing Eren, Annie was glad to finally shift the weight from her shoulders much to Grief's anger.

''How does that make sense? I have nothing to do with the royal family.'' Now Eren's balled fists weren't shaking with illness but anger.

''Your father, he turned you into a Titan shifter after stealing the Coordinate himself.''

Once again Eren froze, these were the answers he had begged for but now he had them all that was happening was the rising of even more questions. ''My...father…'' Eren gawked.

''You told me that you had a really vivid dream of your father injecting you with a syringe filled with a pink liquid. That liquid held the Coordinate and since it can only be held by a Titan Shifter, your father was a shifter and a strong one at that.'' She explained.

Eren's mind immediately turned to his nightmare only minutes ago, his father with a Titan face. ''My nightmare, my father was in it and he was a Titan.'' Eren was starting to panic. ''What's going to happen to me?''

''I don't know, when we were trained as kids we were told that under no circumstance could the Coordinate enter our bodies. If it did,'' Annie turned to face Eren directly. ''If it did it would kill us.''

* * *

''I'm going to die!'' Eren shouted. ''I can't die, there's so much I need to do and see, I just got out into the world and now it's going to be taken from me.''

''Eren calm down!'' Annie snapped. She hated it when people lost their cool and jumped to conclusions that would only worsen the situation. ''Listen, the King can heal you. He's strong enough to do so.''

''What if I don't make it there in time?'' As if on cue a drop of dark red blood fell from his nose, quickly followed by another and then another. It was only moments before there was a steady trickle of the scarlet fluid flowing from his nostrils.

''Sit down and take it easy, the more strain you put on your body the worse the symptoms.'' Eren hadn't even realised that in his panic he had stood up and began pacing up and down the banks of the river. ''We were told not to take the Coordinate into our bodies, but we were trained to deal with a situation where that couldn't be helped. It's called Unraveling.''

Eren slowly made his way back to Annie and sat down. ''What is it?''

''Listen I don't know much about it okay? We were just kids when they taught us this. But as far as I can remember the Coordinate holds all the memories of those who held it before almost like a way of teach the next in line how to use it.''

These words resonated with the frenzied warnings Eren's father had given him the night of his disappearance. Eren remembered in fuzzy detail something about his father telling him to 'use their memories.'

''And sometimes when the host, I guess you could call it, isn't of the right bloodline then all those memories become tangled and the effect on your body is clear to see.'' Annie pointed to red streaks that stained Eren's top lip. ''We were taught how to essentially 'un-tangle' those memories and buy some time until we got to the King who could stabilise them permanently.''

''And you can do this?'' Eren asked.

''You want the honest answer?'' After pondering the thought Eren slowly nodded. ''I have no idea but you're dying.'' _And I don't think my fragile heart could take it if you died. _Grief scoffed. Annie winced slightly but Eren was too deep in thought to notice. ''Still want to try it?''

This time Eren didn't wait a second before nodding. ''If there's a chance I'll take it.'' Gone was the fear and worry in his voice, replaced by a strength and determination.

''Okay, get down on your knees.'' Annie said as she stood up and brushed herself down. Eren did as he was told while Annie walked behind him. ''Now just focus on what happened in your nightmare, nothing else.'' Eren nodded, he screwed his eyes shut as he thought back to his Titan faced father and the woman with long, flowing black hair.

Annie took a deep breath and placed her open hands on his back. Slowly a burning feeling started to spread over Eren's back originating from the area covered by Annie's palms, it coursed through Eren's veins like wildfire. Annie was forced to bit her lip as a way to deal with the burning. _Sure you want to do this Ann? _Grief asked to which Annie replied by pushing down on Eren's back and thus pushing herself into Eren's memories.

Due to her inexperience Annie could only catch a glimpse of Eren's memories and they weren't the ones she wanted to see, in fact they were the ones she wanted to see least. Annie knew that she was looking through Eren's eyes and that made it all the more painful, because she was watching herself being carried away from a mountain of rubble. The world appeared to be moving in slow motion but Annie could see everything in perfect detail, there was something coming towards her. No. It was stopping at the pile of debris, it was a Titan. Annie shifted her gaze downwards to what had piqued the Titan's interest.

It was a woman, she was stuck under some wooden beams her legs were probably crippled. Annie already knew what memory this was but that didn't ease the pain not one bit. Annie was forced to watch as Eren's mother was lifted from the ruins of her home as if she was a doll, she was forced to watch as the Titan clasped its giant hands around her body and choked the life out of her body. _Tell me Ann. Does this seem at all familiar to you? _ Greif sounded stronger as if Annie's emotional turmoil had strengthened the snake somehow. Blackness engulfed her the instant that Titan snapped its giant mouth shut over the limp body of Eren's mother.

* * *

The connection between Annie and Eren was broken as Annie stumbled backwards. Hot, stinging pain boiled over her head blurring her vision, she massaged her temples and looked oce some of the discomfort had dissipated she looked towards Eren.

Eren was kneeling on the river back breathing heavily. ''What the hell was that?'' He coughed. ''I saw you in my head, how's that possible?'' Eren slowly stood up and turned to face Annie and what he saw shook him to the core. Annie was crying, there was tears falling freely down her cheeks but she didn't even appear to realise. ''Annie?'' Eren pointed to the trail of tears. Upon realising she was crying Annie quickly set about clearing her eyes. ''Why are you crying?''

''Whenever two people Unravel the emotions associated with whatever memories we see are shared between the two people.'' Annie said weakly as she brushed away the last of the tears.

''And you saw my mum being killed.'' Eren added.

Annie simply nodded.

''Now do you understand why I can't let those animals exist? Now I have the power to eradicate the Titans I will!'' Eren balled his fists as he began walking over to his tent.

''Then why are you still coming with us? Why haven't you run away and killed every Titan you see?'' Annie asked. This caused Eren to stop in his tracks. Why was he still with these people? He didn't need them to kill all the Titans, after what happened earlier Eren was confident he could do it by himself. ''And I don't mean now that you have to, I mean earlier, like straight after we left Wall Maria with the maps.''

For one of the first and only times in his life Eren was left speechless. He searched his mind and memories for the answer but he couldn't. He knew who attacked his home, he knew how and he now knew why. He had the most important answers so why was he still heading to their home?

In his search for a reason Eren stumbled across one major question that could only be answered by reaching Annie's home. ''I need to know what your King plans to do with the Coordinate or whatever it's called.''

This time it was Annie who was caught unaware, she knew the answer or at least she hoped she did. ''I think I can answer that for you. But promise me that you won't run off once you know. I...We still kind of need you.''

Eren slowly nodded.

''We need the Coordinate to keep us safe. The Feral Titans we fought earlier are threatening to wipe us out. Our King can control any normal Titans by simply telling them what to do. But Feral Titans are different, he can't control them and they are close to overwhelming us.'' Annie paused to let Eren take in the information. ''The Coordinate in the hands of the King will be able to keep us safe.''

''How though? You only gave me half an answer.''

Annie sighed. ''That I don't know. We were only told where to find it.''

''Well it looks like that until I know how you're stuck with me. So now you don't need to worry about me running off.'' Eren jested.

Both of them soon fell into a slightly awkward silence which was odd for them. In all their years of knowing each other never did they find each other's company to be so uncomfortable. It was the first time since leaving the Walls that the both of them were sat down together without the immediate threat of being attacked by Titans. In fact it had been the first time in days that they could talk to each other, if one of them could overcome the unpleasant nature of the situation between them.

Eren leaned back on his hands and looked up to the sky, the clouds that had expanded over the entire sky had began to part and break slightly. Meaning every now and again Eren was lucky enough to get a glimpse through the blanket of clouds and see the stars far, far above.

''Hey Ann remember that time we went training at night?'' Eren decided that such a happy memory was the best way to break the ever thickening ice between them.

Annie sighed, she could already tell where this conversation was going yet despite this she did look back on these memories with a faint hint of fondness. ''Yeah we almost got caught because of you.''

''Hey! I can't help it if Jean leaves all his clothes on the floor for people to trip over.'' Eren smirked. ''Anyway we didn't get caught.''

Annie simply shrugged, soon the two of them were looking up at the sky trying to find the holes in the previously impenetrable veil of clouds. ''After beating me into the ground we spent an hour resting under that tree looking at stars.'' Eren said as he thought back to the night in question.

''You were looking, I was just trying to catch my breath.'' Annie deadpanned.

''So, I saw you trying to look at them as well.'' Eren retorted. ''I can't believe that was almost two years ago now.'' He sighed as he turned his head towards Annie.

''Times change.'' Annie wanted to meet Eren's gaze but she couldn't. ''So do people.''

''Yeah, I mean look at us now...I should hate you Ann.''

''Stop.'' Annie snapped. The sudden nature of her rejection brought Grief to the surface. _This has gotten interesting. _''Eren I can tell where you're going with this and just stop.''

Annie stood up and was about to walk away when Eren stopped her with five words. ''I saw your memories too.''

* * *

Annie came a stop and balled her fists. ''What did you see?''

''I'm not sure, that's why I brought it up. I think I saw your sister.'' Eren knew that he had to be careful or he risked losing Annie completely.

''Bertolt told you. Didn't he?'' Eren nodded. ''I shouldn't have told him about her but...well now you know.'' Annie slowly made her way back to Eren and sat down at his side. ''So what did you see?''

''I saw a girl with silver hair, she was young and there was this woman with long blonde hair holding her hand, I thought it was you for a moment. Then I heard a really loud roar and then it ended.'' Eren explained all the while examining Annie's expression for any signs of sadness or grief.

''I know the day you saw.'' Eren was taken back by how weak Annie's voice was. ''It was a long time ago now, I was only seven. And the girl you saw was my sister, Ella.''

''Ella, what's she like?'' He wasn't sure if he should be asking these questions but some part of him needed to know.

''I barely remember that's the worst part. What I do remember is her being far too adventurous for her own good.'' It was odd to hear Annie speak with such fondness.

''What happened to her that day?''

''She was killed...She was killed when a herd of Feral Titans ran through our village. In fact it was that attack that lead the King to come up with the plan to take the Coordinate.'' It was a tragic tale but there were no tears in Annie's eyes, Eren could only guess it had something to do with the training she had undergone. ''My mother and the other warriors fought them off but once the dust had settled Ella was dead.''

''Oh...I'm sorry.'' Eren said looking down into the water.

''Don't say you're sorry, you had nothing to do with her death, it was her own fault.'' Annie deadpanned.

''You know you're allowed to be upset over the death of your sister.'' Eren was slightly frustrated by the lack of emotion Annie showed for the loss of her sibling.

''I grieved, my family grieved but we got over it, we had more important things to worry about.''

''Like what?''

''My training. Like I said after the attack the King started training some of us for the mission to the Walls.'' Annie explained. ''Me, Bertolt, Reiner and someone called Marcel were chosen to go to the Walls and get the Coordinate.''

''Wait, who's Marcel.'' Eren asked.

''Reiner's best friend, they were like brothers but a couple of days before the attack he was killed outside the village during training. In fact he was eaten by the Titan that sleeps in that tent.'' Annie pointed to one of the tents that surrounded the now extinguished fire pit.

''Ymir!'' Eren shouted much to Annie's frustration. ''Why'd she do that?''

''Once again this is going to make no sense to you but Ymir used to be a Feral Titan.'' Annie sighed as she prepared for Eren's many and undoubtedly loud questions.

''Hows that possible? What does that mean?'' Yet again Eren was on his feet demanding answers.

''You'd have to ask her but after she ate Marcel she became human.'' With each word cogs in Eren's mind began to fit together. With each cog came an answer to his questions. The fate of his father and most importantly, why Titans eat people with such an insatiable hunger.

''So Titan Ymir ate a shifter and became the Ymir we all know and don't like?'' Annie smirked and nodded. ''So a Titan ate a Titan shifter and became human?''

Annie's morbid smirk widened further. ''Now you're getting it.''

''So Titans eat people in hope that one day they'll eat a Titan shifter and become human again?'' Annie simply nodded. ''If that's right then...who did you eat?'' As soon as he finished his question Eren already knew the answer. ''Your mother…'' Once again Annie nodded but her smirk had vanished. ''I'm sorry about what I said on top of the Wall about you...not loving your mother.''

''I was turned into a mindless Titan and I ate my mother, she was just standing their waiting for me. I was a Titan for 40 seconds and they'll haunt me forever.'' Annie was looking straight at the water, if she saw the sorrowful look on Eren's face she might have lost her composure all together.

''I'm sorry Ann. I didn't know about your mum.''

''There are a lot of things you don't know.'' Annie sighed.

''I thought I knew you Ann.'' Eren mumbled.

''You do. Just not as well as you thought. I didn't lie about everything Eren.'' Annie sighed.

A light chuckle cracked the atmosphere between them. ''I know, you're a crap liar.'' Annie was still gazing into the river with her hands resting at her side, the urge to place his hand on top of her's was almost unbearable.

To his utter surprise it was Annie's hand that was on top of his, it was warm, so warm. Eren hadn't realised that since his swim he was shaking with cold. But now Annie's hand was so warm, in that moment he forgot all the anger that had driven him so far from home. He forgot his hatred for the people who stole his home and family. He forgot his goal to exterminate the Titans. Because for the first time in weeks Eren had something warm to hold on to in a world that punished and scolded any sign of hope.

There were no words between them as Annie gently squeezed his hands. There was no need for any words, these two teenagers had known each other for over three years. Simple words quickly became obsolete for the both of them. Their feeling were those that could only be expressed through physical gestures weather that be through the art of unarmed combat or simply holding the others hand to let them know that the cold and painful journey was almost over.

_This can't last Ann. You know this can't. The King will tear the Coordinate from his body if he has to so don't get too attached now. _

With the thought of Eren being tortured and tormented over the treasure they had killed for Annie pulled her hand away from Eren and back to his side. She had spilled her deepest emotions and memories to Eren. Annie had never expected to be able to open her heart to anyone let alone Eren, especially after all the blood she had spilled.

''Ann? What's wrong?'' Eren to was confused, part of Eren knew that he should hate Annie but whenever he tried to look at her with anger and rage all the fire that drove his vengeance vanished. Because no matter how hard he tried Eren couldn't escape the irrefutable truth that he stilled loved Annie.

''I guess I'm just glad that you decided to stick around and not run off.'' Annie shrugged.

''Even if I did I wouldn't get far before you dragged me back.'' Eren laughed jabbing his elbow into her side. ''Besides, I can't go now, if what you said was true and this thing will kill me then I need to see the King.'' He added.

''You never were one to lighten the mood were you?'' Annie scoffed.

Eren quickly turned his head to face her. ''What's that supposed to mean?''

Annie stood and brushed her clothes clean from the soil she had been sitting on. ''You still need to learn how to talk to girls.'' By now the wispy orange streaks of the morning sun were starting to peak above the mountains ahead of them, they were so close to the end now. All they had to do was climb and the weary warriors would be home to their families and their waiting King.


	30. The Final Stretch

**A/N: Hey guess who's back! It's been ages since I uploaded but that's because I wanted this chapter to be as good as possible because after 29 long chapters we have finally made it to Annie's home! It has been one heck of a journey but we're not finished yet, there is still so much mystery surrounding the village and its inhabitants. **

**I also want to say thanks to all 14'000 readers out there! 14'000 is MASSIVE and if I could I would thank each of you individually. So please read on, enjoy and I'll see you for chapter 31! **

* * *

It had been a long and painful few days but finally after all the setbacks and near death experiences Reiner, Bertolt and Annie were almost home. With the rising morning sun came the light that would lead them. Annie and Eren hadn't slept much that night but how could they? Eren was plagued not only by nightmares but by the prospect of finally arriving at his destination, and Annie too couldn't sleep despite her exhaustion - simply because after all these years she would finally be able to fulfill her promise.

Bertolt too seemed excited as he packed up the camp for what he hoped would be the final time; whenever Reiner talked to him that morning he replied with a wide, beaming smile. However not all were taken in by his expression. Ymir, being the genius she was, could easily see past such a weak farce; after all she used to have one herself. While she and Historia were pulling down their tent and snuffing the fire pit she would occasionally look over to Bertolt, and what she saw all but confirmed the theory she had been working on for the past few days.

Bertolt looked afraid. Why would a boy who had been separated from his family in a land where he faced the constant fear of a painful, fearful and unforgiving death be afraid when allowed to come home? There was something about returning from the years away that worried the boy; no, it was more than worry. It was blatant dread. Ymir considered going over to ask him but she already knew his reply, not to mention that Reiner would just use it as an opportunity to have a go at her and after the punishing day of fighting she had just endure Ymir really didn't want to have to deal with Reiner in a foul mood.

''Ymir?'' Historia's voice suddenly shook Ymir from her thoughts. ''What's wrong?'' She asked, instead of waiting for her reply Historia followed the path of Ymir's eyes and quickly found the source of her curiosity. ''Are you still thinking about that?''

Ymir snapped her head back to her smaller companion. ''Well yeah. It just doesn't make sense.'' Historia looked up at her with a clear expression of doubt, Ymir sighed and angled her head to face in Bertolt's direction. ''Look. Don't you see? He looks scared, but why would he be scared?''

Historia sighed. ''Maybe it's because he is about to see his family after not seeing them for five years. Ever think of that?'' She said before turning her attention back to packing away her equipment. ''If it bothers you so much just wait until he's alone then talk to him about it.'' Historia jested.

''You know what?'' Ymir said. Historia looked up at her friend and shook her head.

''Don't! You'll just piss Reiner off.'' She protested.

''Don't care, I want to know so I'm going to ask.'' Ymir dropped her tent poles and made her way over to Bertolt. ''Oi! Lanky! I have a few questions for you.''

Bertolt looked up and sighed. ''Ymir please, not now. We have a lot to get done.'' Upon hearing the break in his voice Reiner too stopped what he was doing and walked over to Bertolt's side.

''I want to talk to Berty not you.'' Ymir scowled at Reiner.

''And I want you to leave him alone.'' Reiner growled with balled fists.

Ymir sighed and looked directly at Bertolt who struggled to meet her eyes. ''Are you really going to let him speak for you now? Come on you destroyed Wall Maria and Wall Rose...temporarily, surely you could defend yourself.''

''That's enough!'' Reiner bellowed, by now all the members of the camp had gathered around, even Eren who was still exhausted from his lack of sleep and the Coordinate that was slowly draining the life from his body.

Bertolt rested a hand on Reiner's shoulder. ''It's okay, I'll handle her.'' He offered Reiner a small smile as a sign of confidence. While he didn't like it Reiner reluctantly agreed and sulked off to finish packing up his tent. Once out of earshot Bertolt turned back to Ymir. ''What do you want now?''

''I want to know why you're faking.'' Ymir made sure to emphasize the last word of her sentence.

It took Bertolt only moments to figure out what she was insinuating. ''I-I don't know what you're talking about.''

''Oh please. Come on Berty, you can smile as much as you want and that blond ox will smile with you, but me? I can see right through you.'' Ymir hummed as she leaned in close to Bertolt.

A light sweat broke out across his forehead, a testament to his nervousness. ''I-I don't have to explain myself to you.''

Ymir faked a look of surprise and backed off. ''Well would you look at that! Bertolt grew a backbone. I know you're hiding something and you know it. And whatever it is, I _will _find out.'' She growled. ''So this is your chance to tell me and get it over with.''

Ymir suddenly felt a hand clasp her shoulder, she sighed and turned on her heels to face whoever was stupid enough to grab her. ''Oh Rein-'' However it wasn't who she thought it was, in fact it was one of the people she least suspected of doing so.

It was Eren.

''Back off Ymir.'' His voice was quiet and low. His teal eyes were focused on Ymir and nothing else.

In all honesty Ymir was truly surprised. She had actually expected to Eren to support her in her interrogation - perhaps even stay quiet and watch, but never did she think that Eren would stop her. ''Seriously Eren? What are you doing?''

''I told you to back off.'' Eren this time put his arm on her shoulder with a lot more strength and pressure; he was serious, and everyone knew that when Eren was serious there would be hell to pay for whoever was on the receiving end of his legendary temper.

''And why would I? I mean he technically killed your mum and yet you're defending him.'' Ymir was now turning her attention towards Eren and his seemingly non-sensical actions.

In response to her obvious attempt to get him to shift his anger towards Bertolt, Eren increased the strength with which he held Ymir's shoulder. ''I'm not defending him, I've just had enough of hearing you go on and on and on. So if you don't want to fight Reiner,'' Eren nodded in the direction of Reiner who was paying close attention to unfolding events, ''and me, then I would suggest that you back off.''

Historia opened her mouth to tell Eren to ease up when someone beat her to it. ''Eren, you've made your point.'' It was Annie. She too had a hand gently resting on Eren's shoulder but she was more than prepared to intervene if Eren tried something. ''Don't do anything stupid in the state you're in.''

''What's that mean Annie?'' Ymir sneered. ''Is Eren not feeling well? Look, all I'm saying is that since his big secret came out Bertolt's been hiding something else and as a hostage I want to know.''

''There's nothing to say and even if there was there's no way I'd tell you.'' Bertolt asserted. ''I know you don't trust me or any of that but believe it or not all I want to do is go home.'' It took all of Bertolt's concentration to pull off a lie that could possibly fool Ymir.

Deciding that she had attracted far too much negative attention by pretty much everyone in the camp, Ymir thought that the best course of action would be to abandon her interrogation, for the time being at least. ''Fine, fine. I don't believe you but I guess there's no point in making enemies out here.'' Ymir shrugged as she pried Eren's hand off of her shoulder and walked over to the river to collect some water.

Once Ymir had left Reiner stood and walked over to Eren. As he did, Annie balled her fists. Eren being in the volatile mood he was meant that he could snap at anyone, especially if it were someone he hated. So she was rightfully concerned as to what the next few seconds would bring to the already fractious camp.

''Hey Eren, I know you hate me and Bertolt but...Thanks for sticking up for him. I know it doesn't mean much coming from me but thanks anyway.'' It was rather unlike Reiner to be so humble to anyone but judging by the tone of his voice he really meant it. Now all that mattered was how Eren would take it.

''You're right, it doesn't mean anything, and the only reason I did it was because I've had enough of hearing Ymir go on and on.'' Eren growled, there was no way he could fight in his state but that didn't take away from his temper.

Reiner threw his head back and laughed. ''I had a feeling you'd say that.'' With that Reiner tuned and made his way over to Bertolt to make the final preparations for the climb.

''You handled that surprisingly well.'' Annie asked with a raised eyebrow. ''I really thought you were going to take a swing for Ymir and Reiner.''

''Well like you said, I'm not exactly in the best state to fight.'' Eren said as he turned to face her.

''Does this mean that for once you listened to me?'' Annie said faking an expression of utter shock.

''Oh ha ha.'' Eren jested. ''I often do listen to you. Doesn't mean I take it on board.''

''Yeah I noticed, like when I told not to get killed in Trost.'' Annie retorted.

''Hey! I didn't die.'' Eren sulked. ''And it's not as if I wanted that to happen, I was trying to save Armin.''

''We've had this conversation before and I know how it ends.''

''Yeah with me chained up behind prison bars.'' Eren smirked. ''It feels like such a long time ago now.''

Annie opened her mouth to make a comment about how times change when Reiner interrupted. ''If you two are done reminiscing, then we're ready to move.'' He gestured to Historia, Ymir and Bertolt who were standing with their packs resting from their backs.

''We're walking?'' Eren gulped.

''No point in wasting so much energy when it's only a couple of miles away, we'll probably reach the base of the mountains by mid-day.'' Reiner leaned down to Eren's face. ''Unless you can't even walk a couple of measly miles.''

''We get it Reiner.'' Annie warned. ''Eren can do it.''

Renier stood back and looked down at Annie with an expression of both confusion and slight shock. ''I think Eren can speak for himself. Since when did you care so much?''

Annie looked down at the floor. She had put herself in a rather awkward position and while she was hating every second of this conversation, Grief and Desire were relishing in Annie's discomfort. _Yeah Annie, since when did you care so much? _Grief laughed. _I don't think she ever stopped caring if you ask me. _Desire smirked.

Annie took a deep breath in and looked up to Reiner. ''Since we need him to complete the mission if you've forgotten.'' With that she threw her pack over her shoulder and began walking in the direction of the mountain range.

''You just love sticking your nose in other people's business don't you?'' Eren hissed.

''Oh so that means there is business between you two!'' Reiner shouted proudly, he went to make a comment that would have surely made Eren blush when all the air in his lungs was forced out as Eren drove his knee into his abdomen. Reiner doubled over and fell to the ground coughing.

''Leave me alone.'' Eren ordered as he jogged after Annie. It took far too much energy to catch up to Annie who was only a few meters away but Eren needed to make it look like there was nothing wrong for as long as possible. As soon as he made it to her side Eren began bombarding Annie with questions as to why she revealed the ill state of his health.

''I just needed to remind you that you aren't exactly in peak condition at the moment.'' By now the rest of the group were hiking towards the mountains, Eren and Annie were ahead by a couple of meters offering them some privacy.

''I don't need reminding, I've had a killer headache all day.'' Eren groaned as he massaged his temples, an uncomfortable silence quickly fell on the two of them, they had gotten on so well in the past few days the fact they were arguing now was strange and cast an awkward atmosphere upon them. Eventually Eren sighed and turned to face Annie as they walked. ''Sorry, I've just been in a foul mood all day.''

Annie smirked. ''It doesn't take a lot to put you in a bad mood.''

''Well this time all it took was an all powerful 'thing' that kills anyone except a certain family. Yeah not much at all.'' Eren threw his arms up in an extravagant gesture.

''Always one for drama as well.'' Annie added. ''Always going on about killing the Titans.''

Eren looked to the ground and Annie scolded herself for being so careless with her words. _Well now look what you've done. _Grief smirked. However as Annie prepared herself for Eren's words of anger Eren himself was smiling. He slowly looked up to her. ''Well now you've been in my head you know why.'' He shrugged. Annie had to double take at Eren. Annie had just joked about Eren's most fundamental belief, for anyone that was a crime that was punished either by a long and rather intimidating lecture about the need for all Titans to be exterminated, or by a bloody exchange of fists and kicks. But know Eren Jaeger was smiling and not a sarcastic smile that would be followed by a strike to the jaw but a true, genuine yet weak smile. Upon seeing the dumbfound yet apologetic look on her face Eren barked a small laugh. ''You said it yourself. People change, I've learned that the world is a lot bigger and more...complex than I ever imagined. I mean look at you, I wanted to kill only a few days ago but now…'' Eren trailed off.

''Things have changed.'' Annie wasn't willing to occupy the end of Eren's sentence. At least, just not right now.

''You two done flirting yet?'' Reiner's obnoxious voice shattered the comfortable atmosphere that had fallen on them. ''Because if you are perhaps you could take a moment and look in front of you.'' During their conversation neither Eren or Annie had been paying attention to the passage of time or distance because when they finally look ahead they saw that they were now at the base of the mountains. Reiner walked up behind Annie and leaned down to her ear. ''The mission isn't over yet.''

Annie immediately knew what Reiner was talking about, but under no circumstance would she give him the reaction she knew he desperately wanted to see. _I don't like agreeing with Reiner but he's right...it's not over until the King rips the Coordinate from Eren's body. _No matter how much she didn't want to occupy the thought Grief wasn't going to let Annie forget that once they arrived home it was all too likely that Eren would die.

No one noticed when Annie balled her fists, well no one except Ymir. The tall girl leaned down to her shorter companion and whispered. ''What's rattled the ice queen's cage?''

Historia looked up at Ymir with a wide smile and shook her head. ''You just can't keep your nose out. Can you?'' She sighed.

''Not when everyone I'm forced to be around are hiding things.'' Ymir shrugged. ''Anyway, I'd be more worried about yourself. I don't think whoever we're about to see is going to be happy to see you for whatever reason.''

''Thanks for reminding me…''

Ymir shot her a devilish smile and put an arm around her shoulder. ''Don't worry, I think I can protect you!'' Ymir said proudly.

''Depends on what's lying over these mountains.'' Historia sighed.

* * *

''Okay this is how it's going to work.'' Reiner beckoned for the others to gather around. _I'm beginning to think that Reiner enjoys the sound of his own voice too much. _Annie never thought she would agree with Grief but now she was struggling to contain a shrill laugh. ''We climb and we don't stop until we reach the top.''

''Was that supposed to inspire us?'' Eren whispered to Annie who promptly had to bite her tongue.

After swallowing her laugh Annie found her reply. ''You know what he's like. Reiner just _loves _to play soldier.''

While Reiner may not have heard Annie, Bertolt most certainly had. Angrily he walked up behind the two of them and gave them a warning. ''This isn't the time for jokes.'' He snapped, shoving past Eren.

''Hey! What's your problem?'' Eren shouted. ''I stuck up for you and this is what I get.''

Bertolt stopped in his tracks and looked back at him. ''In case you've forgotten we are in the middle of nowhere surrounded by Titans. So if you have time for...flirting then you can be walking faster. Or have you forgotten what happened the last time you distracted Annie?''

''Bertolt, that's enough.'' Annie warned. ''It wasn't Eren's fault.''

''Well big surprise!'' With his arms thrown in the air Bertolt had attracted the attention of everyone in the group. ''You're taking _his _side.''

''What the hell has gotten into you?'' Eren hissed sizing up to the taller boy.

''I've had enough of watching you two play happy couples.'' This comment was directed towards Annie. Bertolt then turned to Eren. ''And you...all you do is put Annie in danger.''

At this even Reiner narrowed his eyes. ''What are you talking about?''

''Last night I saw Annie use Unravelling.'' Bertolt snapped, his angry eyes never leaving Eren.

As Reiner made his way over to Annie she couldn't meet his eye. ''She what!? Annie what the hell were you thinking?'' He shouted.

''Eren was dying. I just bought him some time.'' Annie knew her defence was weak but she needed to defend herself.

''And what if you had died. Damn it Annie! We were told _by the _King to never Unravel unless _our_ lives were at risk.'' Reiner's fists were balled with anger.

''What if Eren had died?'' Annie retorted.

''Then one of us could have taken hold of it until we got home. We're stronger than Eren, I could have done it days ago if your stupid feelings hadn't have gotten in the way.'' Reiner growled.

Hearing his strength being tried Eren decided to join Annie's defence. ''Oh so you think you're stronger than me? Wanna try and prove that?''

Reiner simply cast him a brief glance and laughed. ''I already did. Remember Wall Maria? You tore my arm off and I still beat you.''

This appeared to silence Eren and his futile attempts to end both Reiner and Bertolt's attack on Annie. ''You made a promise to your father didn't you? What would I have to tell him if you died?''

''Don't bring him into this.'' Annie growled in a low voice.

''I seriously don't get you Annie. You have so much, a loving father, an amazing sister, friends that will and have gone to hell with you...and yet you'll just throw it away for someone who would happily kill us.'' Reiner sighed.

''I never asked for any of this, none of us did. All I've done is use what I've been given.'' Annie had finally found the words she had been searching for since she failed to kill Armin during the expedition. ''I've failed to become a warrior but...I haven't failed the mission. I'm done with you guys.'' With that Annie walked ahead without even glancing at anyone.

Eren was right behind her but unlike Annie, Eren made sure to give both Bertolt and Reiner a glare so cold and venomous it could freeze blood in a vein.

As soon as Eren and Annie were out of earshot Bertolt turned to Reiner. ''Why do I feel as if we just made a massive mistake?'' Bertolt said with tears forming in his fragile eyes.

* * *

The so called 'Gate' mountains reached peaks of over a thousand meters, higher than any mound or hill Eren and Historia had seen in their entire lives. Rarely had they seen snow or ice except for their years in training but now in front of them were vast rows of mountains lined with what they were told to be meters of the white powder.

That morning while packing and not lunging for each other's throats Eren had learned while study the maps of a pass that lead through the otherwise impenetrable fortress of the Gate mountains.

Ever since the confrontation at the foot of the mountains the only sounds coming from the rocky faces was that of boots against stone. Even Ymir had been silenced by the hatred in the brutal exchange of insults hours ago. They had been climbing for roughly an hour and a half, but the steep alps paired with the unpredictable made it feel as if they had been clinging to the rocks for hours. Eventually Ymir couldn't bear it.

''Oi! Ox face. Where the hell is this pass you told us about?'' She called out from a ledge a couple of meters below Reiner.

Before answering Reiner climbed up a few more feet. ''Not much further. I think I can see the entrance.''

''About time.'' She grumbled.

Minutes later everyone had made it up to the supposed entrance to the pass. It had taken hours of painful and exhausting climbing, but according to Reiner and some of the more detailed maps, they had finally reached the mountain pass. This time there was no 'inspiring' words from Reiner - simply a direction and a pointed finger.

The pass itself was nothing more than a pathway no more than a few feet wide, far too small for even the smallest of Titans to fit through. At each side were steep rock faces many meters high, upon entering the pass Reiner gave them a short warning about the common nature of rock slides but other than that no words were exchanged between any of them.

The atmosphere through the entire walk ironically reflected their surroundings - unstable. Eren was still seething with anger from his confrontation with Bertolt and Reiner, if anything, wanted to talk to Annie about it in an attempt to understand the anger Bertolt and Reiner had directed towards him. But whenever he tried to catch up to her she would simply pull ahead.

Annie herself was dealing with her own problems and didn't need Eren's angry yelling on top of that. The snakes were using the words Bertolt and Reiner had fired at her as ammunition to continually attack her mind and sanity.

_You know I was expecting something like that from Reiner but who could have guessed you'd piss Bertolt off so much. _Desire hummed.

_Yeah he used to be head over heels for you. Perhaps he still is but he'll never look at you the same way again. None of them will. _Grief sighed. _Give a few days and even Eren will abandon you. _The relentless assault went on for hours and before long Annie was close to breaking point. Her fists were balled so tightly her nails had pierced the skin of her palms causing drops to blood to occasionally fall from her hands.

_And judging by what you said…'I'm done with you guys.' Yeah great job Annie. _Grief hissed. _The one thing you want out here, the one thing you need out here are allies and you just told your two closest allies two go fuck themselves…_ Grief repeated the last part of the statement over and over again, each time more venomous than the last.

As she walked through the pass Annie could almost feel the walls slowly getting tighter and tighter as the snakes violently attacked her mind. _I mean seriously, what were you thinking? _Grief sighed.

''That's enough!'' Annie shouted. Her voice echoed against the rocky walls that surrounded her. Normally when she ushered an order to one of the snakes it was nothing more than hushed whisper and rarely did anyone hear her. But here there was no escaping the worried looks that were directed towards her.

Annie's sudden outburst had attracted a lot of unwanted attention from the entirety of the group. Eren went to reach out and ask her what was wrong when Annie simply turned and ran down the narrow path her fists balled all the way. To Eren watching Annie run off into the distance felt as if some great weight had been placed on his chest and all of a sudden he found it hard to breathe. Seeing her leave like that sparked Eren's already sour mood, he looked to Bertolt. ''This is your fault.'' He spat before going after her.

Reiner turned to Bertolt and while no words were exchanged between them both knew what the other was thinking. They agreed with Eren.

* * *

In his fragile state it took Eren tremendous amount of energy to catch up to Annie, it didn't help that the path ahead started to twist and bend making it very difficult to navigate. At points the walls closed in so far Eren was forced to squeeze through the most narrow of sections. Yet despite the uncooperative nature of the path and the weakness of his body Eren managed to see Annie through the rocks.

''Ann!'' He called out, but no response. In fact it appeared that she sped up after hearing Eren's voice.

_And now...you have one last person who can help you. One last person who is on your side and in a matter of hours, maybe a day and he too will be dead. What then? _Grief continued the assault.

''I...I still have dad.'' Annie whimpered in protest.

_Oh please! You ATE his beloved wife. Right. In. Front. Of. Him. _Grief snarled. _You think he still loves you? That's cute Ann, you just stick by that thought and I'm sure everything will be fine. _Never before had Grief been so cruel and Annie was suffering as a result. Tears quickly began to form in her steely eyes, she knew that if anyone, especially Eren saw her like this she would be bombarded with undoubtedly uncomfortable questions and right now that was something Annie really didn't want and certainly didn't need.

''Hey Ann! Slow down.'' Eren's voice bounced off the walls of the rocky faces making it difficult for Annie to judge how far away he was. However moments later Annie didn't need to get away from him, because she had made it through the pass - she had made it home.

* * *

''Annie where are you…'' Eren's words vanished in his throat once he turned the last corner.

Eren was standing hundreds of feet above the home of the people that killed his mother and hundreds of thousands of people, the home of the people that had relentlessly beat against the walls of his home, the home of the girl he hated and loved.

And just like Bertolt had explained. It was beautiful.

Flowing perfectly through the center of the caldera was a wide, shining river. ''The river Eve…'' Eren gawked.

The sun had broken through the thin veil of clouds, illuminating the river in a dazzling display of light. That's when he saw it. ''Home.'' Annie whispered. ''I'm finally home.''

By focusing Eren could just make out the vague shapes of what appeared to be houses and even, people. That's when his eyes settled on something worrying. ''Are...they...Titans.'' Eren didn't even realise he had balled his fists until he felt his nails digging into his palms.

''They're Shifters like us. Things must be pretty bad if the King has normal shifters on patrol.'' Annie hummed.

''What do you mean?''

Annie sighed. ''Usually shifters aren't allowed to shift inside the village without special permission, so the fact that there are so many shifters in their Titans means that the Feral Titan problem must have gotten a _lot _worse since we left.'' At that moment Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir and Historia appeared behind them and upon seeing their home after five long, painful years Reiner couldn't fight the tears that welled up in his eyes. As they freely fell down his cheeks he rested a hand on Bertolt's shoulder and in a weak voice whispered.

''I'm home.''

Historia was expecting Ymir to make some comment of Reiner's sniveling and crying but strangely she was absolutely silent, her eyes focused on the village and those that lived within. ''Ymir?'' Upon hearing her name Ymir snapped out of whatever trance had captured her and focused on her companion. ''Are you okay?''

Ymir went to nod her head when she noticed her fists were clenched as tightly as physically possible and despite her best efforts Historia had known. Sighing Ymir leaned down to her ear and whispered. ''Lets just say these people have a pretty strong reason to hate me that goes beyond snacking on one of their 'warriors'.'' Historia was rightfully confused but Ymir offered no further answers simply telling her that. ''I'll tell you when we're somewhere private.'' From that point on Historia's mind was full of theories and hypotheses surrounding Ymir's strange attitude towards the village and its inhabitants.

Now that they had all assembled at the top of the winding path that lead down to the village Reiner took the first step followed by Bertolt who took an understandable deep breath, then a worried looking Historia, a reluctant Ymir leaving Annie and Eren looking from above. Eren took a step forward and expected Annie to be right behind him but looking back he saw her unmoving. ''Aren't you coming?''

_Yeah Annie. Aren't you going to say hello to dear old dad? _Desire cackled.

''I guess I'm just worried about how much things have changed.'' She sighed. ''Five years is a long time.''

''You can say that again. Five years ago I was an angry idiot who saw the world in black and white. And now...well.'' Eren reassured.

''You're still an angry idiot, but thanks.'' With that Annie started making her way down the path and towards her home and waiting father. Seeing how they climbed hundreds of feet it only made sense that they had to descend that far. The path leading down was thankfully wider and seemingly more stable than the one that lead through the pass, meaning it took only minutes to make their way down to side of the mountains. As they approached the village Eren and the others could pick out that some of the people had noticed them and were gathering at a large wooden gate that marked the entrance to the village. Not only that but some of the Titans that were tirelessly patrolling the perimeter had abandoned their job to see what was causing all the commotion.

Reiner came to stop a few meters from the wooden structure and those behind him also stopped in their tracks. Eren noticed that written across the top of the gate were written four words.

'Home of the warriors'.

Eren went to ask Annie the meaning behind the sign but once he saw her Eren knew that she was focused on something admittedly more important. Her father. Annie's eyes were darting from figure to figure searching for her dad. And moments later Eren heard her breath hitch letting him know that her frantic search was over. Annie had found her father, following her eyes Eren too saw him. Immediately he saw where Annie got her less than intimidating height, he was a short man with muddy brown eyes and striking silver hair. Eren went to ask if that was her father, just to make sure when something or rather someone interrupted him.

A strange whistling sound filled the air around and Eren, Historia and Ymir both started looking around them in search of its source when a thunderous quake shook the ground beneath their feet and a choking cloud of dust enveloped their bodies. Once the wall of dirt and dust had cleared Eren looked up at the fabled King of warriors, stunned Eren was left with his words in his stomach when the beastly King spoke in a voice that while soft caused a chill to run up his spine.

''Welcome home warriors.'' His coal black eyes were focused on the trio of weary shifters and a moment later Eren, Historia and a worried Ymir found themselves under his piercing gaze. ''And company.''


	31. The Beast King

**A/N: Well hello again. I've been hard at work on this chapter, we're finally at the village and the Beast Titan has just made a rather dramatic entrance. I've been planning this bit for a long time and I'm so excited to finally be able to write about Annie's family and the others. While writing I was quite nervous because of all the new characters, so it would mean a lot if you could give me a review or PM about the new characters. Nevertheless please read on and enjoy. **

**I'll see you for chapter 32! **

* * *

Eren was left utterly speechless as he looked up into the cold black eyes of the fabled Beast King. A Titan at least seventeen meters tall with arms that stretched down to the ankles that held up the legendary body. What caught Eren's attention most was the fact that unlike any Titan he had seen in the past, this one was covered in a thick coat of oak brown fur.

''I was expecting my warriors to come home,'' With each word Eren felt an icy dagger dig deeper into his spine. ''but I wasn't expecting them to bring this much company.'' The Beast Titan leaned down until his face was mere feet from Eren's. ''Who are you boy?'' Eren swallowed the fear that had creeped up his throat and examined the Beast King in closer detail. His face was rounder than expected, his fingers were extremely long even for a Titan meaning that he was extremely dextrous. Eren took note of the pointed ears that stuck out from the sides of his head, it reminded him greatly of Ymir's Titan. As the Titan knelt down to face him Eren noticed that while his eyes were a darker and colder shade of black he had ever seen they were relatively small in comparison to the rest of his head and face and by looking at the size of his nostrils Eren guessed that he relied on smell and sound more than sight.

Eren knew that meeting the King he had so much about from Bertolt, Reiner and Annie would be a powerful and even frightening experience but despite his mental preparations Eren had still underestimated the aura that the Beast Titan was expelling. He turned to Annie who gave him a small nod, mustering what little courage he had Eren found the words in his heart.

''My name is Eren Jeager.'' To anyone else it would have seemed that Eren's voice was filled with strength but the Beast King had been seen so many lives come and go that in his years of ruling he had learned to pick up on the even the smallest cracks in a person's resolve.

''Jager? You said Jager didn't you?'' The great Titan tilted his head slightly to the side as to get a better view of Eren.

''Y-yes.'' Once again Eren did all he could to feign courage and confidence.

The Beast King's lips pulled back into a massive and blood freezing smile, revealing row after row of talon like teeth. ''Well, well. Would you look at that. It makes sense actually, you're the spitting image of him.'' The Titan hummed in a voice that sent vibrations through the soil. He was about to give Eren the answer to one of his greatest question when a vile scent filled his nostrils.

He craned his giant head around to face Historia, the King leaned in and took a breath so deep it caused Historia's golden hair to dance in the current he created. ''I thought I smelled a Reiss.'' The Beast Titan turned to Reiner. ''Why did you bring a Reiss here?''

Reiner jumped as if an electric current had been shot up his spine. ''W-we needed to make sure that their armies wouldn't follow us. I thought if we had her then they wouldn't risk her dying.''

The Beast King shook his head and sighed. ''Well it's not as if she'll be leaving alive so it doesn't make that much of a difference.'' Hearing her life being talked about in such a nonchalant manner caused Historia to take a step back in fear and Beast Titan could smell fear and he loved it. ''Oh?'' He leaned in further. ''Are you afraid little girl?'' No one, not even Ymir dared to speak up. ''I and everyone here has the right to kill you and send your bloody, beaten and broken body back to the wretched people of the Walls. I should applaud these three brave warriors for bringing you here.'' He growled.

''We also brought the one who killed Marcel.'' Bertolt explained, everyone was shocked with the confidence in his voice as he addressed the one who ruled over all the village with absolute power.

''Oh did you now-'' Upon turning his chilling gaze to Ymir the Beast King's normally calm, steely eyes widened with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Shock. He stared into her hazel brown eyes and she stared right back into his. At this crucial moment the King couldn't afford to show any weakness at any moment, especially this one. He quickly stood to his full dizzying height. ''Eren, daughter of Reiss. I would love to stay and talk but as you can see, I have a village to protect.'' With that he started walking away towards the sheer rock face from which Eren had emerged minutes earlier.

''Wait!'' Eren shouted to the horror of everyone in the village, including Annie. ''I have so many questions. You can just leave!'' He demanded.

''I can't just leave?'' The Beast King hummed. Moving like water he turned on his giant heels and slammed his balled fists into the ground throwing up a wall of dust and debris. ''And are you going to stop me. Boy.'' He growled. ''Because if you are I could and will kill everyone in the Walls that you love, care for or have even met. I could do in a matter of days and I would keep you alive for every. Last. Moment.'' The King sighed. ''You're not in the Walls anymore, back there you may have been the strongest but here, look around,'' The great Titan gestured to the still growing crowd of people at the gate to the village. ''Here you are a petty child among warriors. Learn your place.'' He sneered.

Eren was left with all his words waiting in his open. He had expected the Beast King to be powerful and intimidating but never in his wildest nightmares did he expect someone or something so ruthless. Eren wanted to fight him, he wanted to get the answers but deep down he knew that he was nothing but an insect to him, an insect that could be squashed at any moment. Nevertheless he balled his fists and went to demand some answers when Annie rushed forward and clamped a hand on his shoulder. ''Don't.'' She hissed, Annie was well acquainted with Eren's temper but now she hoped that over the past few days he had listened to her warnings.

To her relief he slowly closed his mouth and tore his gaze from the Beast King, however his fists stayed clenched with anger.

''I understand you have travelled far, I shall answer whatever questions you have tonight.'' The King turned his gaze to Annie. ''If you could Annie, look after Eren while he is here and take him to the gate at sunset.'' With that he turned and began to climb the hundreds of of meters to the lip of the caldera.

Once he was gone Annie was left in a difficult position, everyone from the village was still in shock from the outburst from their king, including Annie's father. Annie was torn between two decisions. Go and comfort Eren or see her father after five years of separation, to her shock and slight disgust Annie found that she couldn't come to an immediate answer. However the trance placed over the villagers couldn't stop a father from welcoming his daughter home.

''Annie!'' A voice called out from the crowd and moments later the wall of people parted as Annie's father came running out to meet her daughter. Despite his less than impressive height he made it over to Annie in a matter of seconds and in his tree trunk like arms wrapped his daughter in a crushing hug. Annie instantly gave herself into the hug and pull her father close as she hugged him back. ''You kept your promise. You came home.''

''Sorry I took so long.'' Annie whispered in a weak voice.

Her father pulled away and examined his daughter. ''You're taller.'' He said with a large and proud smile spanning his lips. ''And what are these?'' He pointed to the maneuvering gear on Annie's hips, due to wearing the gear for the best part of three years Annie had forgotten that the people of her home had never seen such a device.

''It's a long story dad.'' It was taking a tremendous amount of willpower for Annie to hold back the tears that were rapidly welling up in her eyes.

He gave a short bark of a laugh. ''I'm sure it is Ann.'' Out of the corner of his eyes Annie's father caught sight of two people that when he last saw them were nothing more than children. ''Bertolt...Reiner!'' The two shifters looked to Annie's father with sad smiles. ''My god look at you two! You've grown up so much. Your families will be so proud when they see you.''

Bertolt's face lit up at the prospect of seeing his family again. ''Where are they?''

Annie's father looked to the taller boy and sighed. ''Your sister is out fishing at the river, as for your father and brother I'm not sure.'' Bertolt frowned knowing he would have to wait until evening to see his father and siblings.

Eren had recovered from hiss encounter with the King and was now paying attention to the boys in front of him. While Bertolt was bombarding Annie's father with questions over the health and state of his family Reiner was silent. His gaze was locked on the ground and he gritted his teeth in an expression of intense anger. Leaning over to Annie, Eren wanted more answers.

''What's up with Reiner?'' Eren whispered. Annie went to reply when her father got in the way.

''You must be Eren Jeager.'' Eren's throat felt as if he had swallowed a handful of gravel upon hearing his name from this man's voice. To his utter shock he extended his open hand. ''My name is Torin Leonhart. Good to meet you.'' Eren stuttered a thank you before taking his hand and shaking it weakly. ''This must be overwhelming for you, come. You look like you could use some food and water.'' Torin beckoned for Eren to follow as he, Annie, Reiner and Bertolt made their way into the village.

''What about us?'' Ymir called out, she and Historia were still standing where they had been upon meeting the Beast King.

''A Reiss and the girl who murdered a boy barely ten years old.'' Torin sighed. ''You should just be thankful the King didn't kill you where you stood.''

''Why didn't he?'' Historia blurted. Since the King mentioned her last name she had gritted her teeth in preparation for her life to be ended in the next coming moments. But when the strike didn't come Historia had been confused as to why she had been spared despite the weight of her last name.

''Because he wants you to see what the Reiss family has done to us. Then he'll kill you.'' Torin explained.

Historia was left silent and even more worried than before she had asked. ''And what about me?'' Ymir asked putting a hand on Historia's shoulder.

When Torin's muddy brown eyes settled on Ymir he narrowed his gaze and balled his fists. ''You. You filthy Feral killed one of our own and stole his life purely to extend your own.'' Torin stormed up to Ymir and despite the fact she was taller than him it didn't diminish his intimidating aura. Not one bit. ''So the reason why you are alive, is because the King wants the members of the village to saving him the dishonour of laying a finger on you.''

''So what? I just stay here and wait for a mob of villagers to come and hang me?'' Ymir shrugged.

Torin went to nod when of all people Bertolt stopped her. ''No.'' He turned to face Torin. ''She was a Feral Titan, would…'' Bertolt took a deep breath. ''Would you blame Annie for what happened to Ilya?''

Torin's eyes widened and his angry words died in his chest. While his fists remained balled the rage in his heart faded. ''You can stay with us...both of you.'' He sighed.

* * *

Torin lead Annie, Eren, Historia and Ymir through the village. Bertolt and Reiner had promised to meet them later, it was understandable, they wanted to see their families. Or at least Bertolt wanted to. As they left Eren once again noticed the odd expression on Reiner's face.

As they made their way through the village Eren couldn't help but let his vision wander, all around him were people, so many people. never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that so many could survive so far from the safety of the Walls. Around him stood people of all ages, each with their curious eyes locked on him and the others. Occasionally a child would wave at him and Eren would cautiously wave a weary Titan would glare them suspiciously and Eren would glare back. As he looked through the town Eren noticed just how wide the streets were.

''If you have any questions I can do my best to answer them.'' Torin chuckled after looking at Eren's dumbfounded expression.

''Really?'' Eren smiled to which Torin nodded. ''Well...I was wondering, is everyone here a shifter?''

''Not everyone, I guess to you this could be quite complicated. Has Annie ever told you about the idea of 'promise'?'' Torin asked. Eren turned to Annie and shook his head. ''Well each family is expected to have three kids, out of those three children a special force of officers known as the Officials come to evaluate the kids. If one of them shows 'promise' then they are turned into a Titan by the King and then…'' Torin's eyes fell as did Annie's. Then they eat their shifter parent.''

''Why though? After Annie un-told me I just couldn't figure it out.'' Eren shouted.

''I'm assuming you know that if a Titan eats a shifter they too become a shifter?'' Torin inquired. Eren nodded. ''Well out of the two parents one of them, normally the mother is the shifter. You see girls are usually more accepting of the Titan power so it usually the mother who is eaten.'' It looked as if Torin was straining with each word. ''The fact we had three male warriors in the same generation is actually quite odd.'' He added.

''So what happens to those who don't have promise?'' Eren asked while still gazing at each and every building, person and Titan he passed.

''They grow up and help out across the village, sometimes you get entire families that give children that don't show promise and in those cases they just help the village.'' Torin explained gesturing to a group of three identical teens hammering the tiles of a roof. ''Nowadays warriors spend their days defending the village from herds of Ferals.''

''Things are that bad then?'' Annie didn't want to interrupt her father's explanation bui after being away for so long Annie needed to know the current state of her home.

''Almost immediately after you left the attacks were almost weekly and for a while, daily, we lost a lot of people both warriors and civilians. All those houses and barns their building,'' Torin pointed to a line of homes currently under construction. ''They're the third set of buildings in that area in two months.'' As they made their way through town Eren caught sight of Annie's eyes and he felt his heart melt slightly. Her normally cold eyes were wide with genuine happiness and fulfillment as she walked through the streets her mother and father would race her down on the way to the markets. ''Anyway Mr Jeager, I also have a questions. What are the Walls like?''

''Oh,'' Eren had never expected to be asked questions about the Walls, it only made sense, to these people Eren had come from an alien world enclosed by monolithic structures. ''Well they're fifty meters high, so higher than any Titan. Or...well so we thought.'' Eren chuckled dryly. It was a risky joke but Eren wanted to make sure that the current atmosphere didn't change from one of curiosity and intrigue to a cold, hostile fog, Eren was desperately trying to make a good impression on Annie's father.

''I guess so.'' He smiled sadly. ''I want you to know that we only had to do what had to do to survive.''

Once again Eren chuckled. ''If you had told me that a week ago I would have tried to kill you.'' Eren paused to force back a wave of tears. ''But Ann has told me a lot about the situation here and it's far more complicated that I thought.'' While Eren was making a truly valid and heartfelt point Torin was paying particular attention to way in which Eren spoke of his daughter and upon hearing her nickname he raised an eyebrow.

''You were close with my daughter?'' Torin inquired.

Both Eren and Annie felt as if their blood had frozen in their veins. When facing a world of Titans that would happily kill them, eat them and spit them back out never did Annie and Eren ever consider the prospect of having to explain their relationship to their families. Now that the situation had arisen Eren felt a strange sense of fear despite being far from danger.

''During our years in training Annie agreed to teach me her...skills at hand-to-hand combat.'' Eren coughed, for some odd reason he felt as if he had to hide the details of their relationship from Annie's father.

Seeing a chance to stir up some havok Ymir decided to unveil the truth. ''Hey Eren aren't you forgetting something?'' Ymir cooed much to Eren's worry and anger.

Torin looked back to Ymir and then to Annie who's face was peppered in a coral pink blush and despite not seeing her father for five years she couldn't meet his gaze. ''Ann, is there something else you need to tell me.'' Reverting to her usual self Annie went silent and simply shook her head. A thin smile spread across his lips as he faced Eren. ''Ann taught you how to fight?''

''Yes and I'm very grateful for it.'' Eren muttered quickly.

Torin once again looked back. ''Miss Reiss, if you can give a honest answer I'll let you and your friend stay in the house tonight instead of the shed.''

Historia rushed up to Torin's side. ''During the three years of training Annie and Eren were in an...intermate relationship.'' Out of respect for her friendship with Eren she tried to explain the situation as carefully and as delicately as possible. ''They were very happy together.''

''Well well. It looks like Ann has all grown up.'' Torin looked to Eren and scanned him up and down. ''I guess you could do worse. Eren. I want to have a talk with you when we get to my home.'' All Eren could do was nod in understanding.

By now Eren, Annie, Torin, Historia and Ymir had made it to the riverside home Torin and his wife Ilya had built almost twenty years ago and thanks to their furious nature it had stood the test of time and countless Titan invasions. But just as Annie was arriving home so were Bertolt and Reiner.

* * *

Since he left all those years ago what kept Bertolt going through the nightmare filled nights was the thought of seeing his family again. Through the grueling days, weeks, months and years of training Bertolt had been supported by both Reiner and the parting words from his father, sister and brother.

''We will wait for you, no matter how long.'' Bertolt whispered to himself as he strolled through the familiar streets of his home. Despite his stature Bertolt was actually the middle child in his family, as a young boy Bertolt's older sister had been and still was an inspiration to him. As he walked past row after row of market stands he thought back to how his sister helped him control his shifting while his father was grieving.

Despite the fact he was almost home Bertolt couldn't help but stop at the market stalls to indulge in the smells of freshly baked bread and smoky grilled river fish. Taking a deep breath Bertolt let the intoxicating smells fill him up. ''Aahh it smells so good.'' He hummed.

''Little Berty? Is that you?'' A heart shakingly familiar voice filled his ears as he looked up to see who had spoken from behind the market.

''C-Clementine...Is. Is it really you?'' Standing only a foot in front of Bertolt was his older sister. In the years he was gone Clementine had taken on an incredible amount of responsibility, primarily teaching young warriors how to control their newly acquired powers and the basics of how to fight against Feral Titans.

As a result of her physical training she had become an extremely strong young woman and it showed. The muscles of her arms were clearly defined and she knew it hence she was wearing a light brown T-shirt. Her face showed the confidence of someone who was in charge, a wide, strong and proud smile spanned her lips. ''Welcome home Lanky.'' She didn't even give Bertolt a chance to respond before reaching over the counter and pulling him into a loving hug. ''I heard the commotion from the main gate, I was fishing at the river when I heard the King's voice. I was just about to close up and make my way over when you saved me the job.''

''Is anyone else home?'' Bertolt asked. He was expecting both his father and brother to be waiting in their usual spots in the house, so Bertolt was thoroughly surprised when Clementine gave her answer.

''Nope.'' She said with a smirk.

''What?'' Bertolt gawked.

''About four months after you left dad got a job working at the lumber mills just outside of town.'' Clementine explained.

''Dad...working in a lumber mill? You've got to be kidding me.'' He chuckled.

''You better believe it, he said,'' Clem cleared her throat and put on her best impression. ''If my eleven year old son is old enough to go to the Walls I think I'm more than old enough to cut some wood.''

''Really?''

Clem nodded. ''Yeah, you inspired him, dad and Emmerich both.''

Bertolt couldn't help but laugh. ''Okay, now I know you're joking.''

Clem's jaw dropped. ''Seriously, you don't believe your own sister. He isn't doing too much don't worry, every now and again he helps on the wheat farms. You inspired both of them.''

''That's brilliant.'' Bertolt could barely believe what he was hearing. Before he left all he could remember of his father was a man caught in the past, a man who would go on to grieve the loss of his cherished wife for month after month. ''When will they be home?''

''They usually come home at sunset. Until then you're going to tell me about the Walls and what it was like.''

Normally talking about his experiences brought crushing sadness to the boy but now that he was home in the presence of his older sister Bertolt felt that talking about the Walls and the events he instigated would actually lift some of the weight from his shoulders.

''Well...it's not the happiest story…'' Bertolt started and Clementine listened to every single word.

* * *

Just as Bertolt began regaling his sister with stories of his training and descriptions of the famous Walls Reiner was slowly walking down the streets of his village with his balled fists in his pockets.

Since leaving home all Reiner could think about was the day that he would one day return, after separating from Bertolt and the others he had been swammed by members of the village. They would praise him, pat him on the back and congratulate him and of course Reiner would welcome their happiness and relief with smiles of accomplishment. However there was still one person he hadn't yet seen.

His father. Luthor Braun

Since the death of Reiner's mother his father became reclusive, refusing to accept the necessity for the death of his wife and the way he chose to deal with his grief and frustration towards the King was to disown the one who took his wife from him.

Immediately after the death of Uta Braun, just when Reiner needed the support of his family his remaining parent Luthor kicked him out onto the streets saying how he 'murdered' the one who brought him into the world. As a result of becoming a Titan shifter Reiner grew two skins of armour, one to the physical weapons of the world he would grow up to face and a second to the King he swore to serve.

Reiner had hoped that by bringing the Coordinate back with him along with the daughter of Reiss' _and _the killer of one of the villages young warriors in training he would earn back the love of his father and two younger brothers.

''Five years. Five years, I hopes that enough for you old man. If you knew what we had to do then you should welcome me back with open arms.'' Reiner growled as he rounded the final corner before arriving home. Outside there was no banner, no well done and no one. The Braun home was designed with the defining trait of each member of the family. Sturdiness.

It was built into one of the far walls of the caldera thus sticking to the Braun ideology of strength and resilience, it took special permission to build into the side of the caldera. Only after Reiner's grandfather; a long standing ally and friend to the King died did he give the family permission to move into the unique location.

''Just like you...You know what, you don't deserve my time.'' Reiner spat. He turned on his heels and walked back down the street . ''I know someone who does.''

* * *

''Welcome home.'' Torin said as he heaved the front door to his home open. To Annie all the sensations of that last day came back to her, the taste and heat of the honey tea, the bitingly cold air of the morning, the sound of Reiner and Bertolt's cries as they both mourned their childhood friend. Torin stood out of the way to let Annie take the first step into her home.

Despite the changes five years had brought to the infrastructure of her home to Annie it felt identical to the last morning she spent here. The fireplace protruding from the side of the wall was still the centerpiece of the bottom floor, the sight of which took her breath away. Torin could easily see the strain on his daughter's expression, he went to rest a hand on her shoulder when someone beat him to it.

''Hey Ann. You okay?'' Eren asked gently placing a hand on one of her shoulders. Annie simply nodded and took a single step, then another and soon she was well and truly home. Torin watched with a small, weak smile as Eren followed her. ''Where's your other sister?'' Immediately Eren clamped a hand over his mouth and looked directly at Annie who turned to face her father.

''She's working in the markets selling vegetables.'' He sighed.

''Have you let her home yet?'' All of a sudden Annie voice was free from the weakness that had accompanied every word since seeing her father. Now her voice had regained the ice and strength that Eren knew all too well.

''I've...been trying.'' Torin couldn't even meet his daughter eye.

''Wait what are you talking about?'' Eren asked. Annie's father went to explain when Annie cut her off.

''After Ella was killed dad blamed my other sister for her death, saying how it was her job to keep her safe.'' With each word Torin's gaze sank even lower to the floor. ''I was too young to understand but my sister Leila was kicked out by my father.''

''Didn't your mum say something?''

Annie shook her head. ''After that attack my mum spent all her time fending off Feral attacks and only a few weeks later well...you know.''

Eren craned his head around to Torin. ''How could you do that to your own daughter?''

The man looked up at Eren with steel in his heart. ''I knew that one day Annie would grow up to be a warrior, I had known it ever since she was old enough to kick a post. I spent years trying to prepare for the day when my wife was killed.'' Torin was forced to choke back some tears. ''So when Ella died it took me by surprise and I just...I said awful things to Leila and I immediately regretted them but the damage was already done.''

''Where's she living now?'' Eren asked.

''As far as I know she's lives mainly with the Brauns and the Berwicks.'' Torin explained. ''I've tried to keep an eye on her.''

Historia listened to each word with an open heart. She too had been on the receiving end of her parents cruelty and thus knew what Leila must be feeling. ''I can talk to her.'' Every head turned to the small girl and Torin laughed a cynical and sarcastic laugh.

''And why would I want a Reiss talking to my youngest daughter?'' He asked.

''Believe it or not but I know what it feels like to have a parent tell you how they wish you were never born.'' Eren thought back to their conversation around the campfire where Historia revealed the appalling attitude of her mother. ''So I can talk to her, maybe even help to build something for you two.''

Torin sneered at the girl. ''Don't think for a moment that just because I'm letting you stay in my home that I want you to talk to my family.''

Eren could see that while Torin's words showed that he wanted nothing to do with Historia's proposal, deep down he wanted to rebuild the bridges he had burned in a fit of grief and fear. ''I think you should give her a chance, Historia can be quite convincing.'' Eren interjected.

''But she's a Reiss.'' Eren was worried that by siding with Historia he would damage his fragile and newly formed ties with Annie's father but he also wanted to help Historia through the coming days, after all out here the one thing you needed were allies.

''Then let me prove to you that I am a Reiss in nothing more than name. Please.'' Historia stepped towards Torin with determination in her eyes.

Torin's eyes shifted to and from each and everyone in the room, more than anything he just wanted to hold his daughter in his arms again and he was willing to do anything to see that happen. Even side with the sworn enemies of his people. ''Fine...if you can find her please, please convince her to give me a chance.''

Historia nodded and thank the man who walked over to a chair in front of the fireplace and sat down. ''Who would have guessed, I'd be asking a Reiss for help.'' Torin rubbed his temples and looked over to the group of weary teens. ''Anyway, you must be hungry. Come sit at the table and I'll bring something over.'' Eren didn't need telling twice, during their colossal journey Eren had suffered injury after injury and setback after setback. He was well and truly famished, not to mention that his current state was to say the least fragile and although he wouldn't admit it, Eren could feel himself weakening by the hour.

He and the others made their way around the table. ''I wasn't expecting so many of you. I don't have much food left but please help yourselves.'' Torin said rubbing the back of his head, I was planning on going shopping tomorrow.''

Eren thanked him before devouring the bread and what small amount of meat Torin had laid out in front of him and the others. It felt so good to finally eat some meat that didn't taste of charcoal and soot. The rabbits Annie had caught during her hunting expedition had been well appreciated but after being roasted on the fire they tasted of charred leather with texture to match. So being able to eat food that had been cooked and prepared with more thought than just survival was a blissful and oh so tasty. Laid out in front of him were several plates of sliced breads and even some cheeses that Eren had never seen let alone heard of.

It took Eren only moments to finish his food and when he was done Eren leaned back in his chair and sighed a sigh of pure satisfaction. ''Thank you so much. You have no idea how good it felt to eat real food again.'' Annie shot him a poisonous glare.

_He has no idea how much we went through to get those damn rabbits? _Desire huffed, the snake was right, hunting rabbits through the ruined remains of a once bustling city is no easy business so the fact that Eren was complaining about her cooking was more than enough to get to her to glare daggers at him.

''I'm glad you enjoyed the food.'' Torin said as he walked towards the door. ''Eren if you could?'' He gestured to the door. Immediately Eren knew what Torin wanted, it was only natural, a father looking out for his daughter. Before he left Historia made sure that both she and Ymir thanked Torin for his hospitality, she was hoping that if she could make one ally here she could make more thus saving herself and Ymir from the fate of an angry mob.

''Yes of course.'' Eren rushed to stand and make his way to the door, with his back to her Annie looked to her father and just shook her head, a silent gesture saying simply. _You're really doing this? _

* * *

Outside Torin shut the door and began to walk down the path that Eren and the other had only walked down minutes ago. ''I understand you were in a relationship with Annie?''

Eren nodded quickly. ''Yes, we were together for almost three years.'' He added.

''Were?'' Torin inquired. ''If I may ask what happened between you two?''

Eren sighed. The memories of being left on top of Wall Rose were not his favorite ones to say the least. ''After Bert- The Colossal Titan attacked the city of Trost I was...eaten by a Titan. I was reported dead when it turns out I was actually a Titan myself. After Annie told me that she couldn't go through the feelings of losing someone close to her again, she told me that you had warned her that other people would only hurt her.''

This time it was Torin who sighed. ''I was trying to protect her, I had been brought up with the stories of the Walls and how they were a decrepit place filled with people who wouldn't think twice about cutting your throat. I thought I was sending my daughter into hell.''

Eren when to open his mouth to comment on how well he brought Annie up when the ground beneath both their feet shook. ''And you were.'' The unique voice of the Beast King filled the air. Both Torin and Eren turned on their heels and behind them they saw the enigmatic ruler of the warriors slowly approaching them. ''Or did you forget what I told you when Annie left?'' Torin balled his fists and looked to the floor. ''Didn't think so.'' The King hummed. ''I was going to wait for Annie to bring you to the gate but it seems Torin saved me the trouble.'' Now the Beast Titan's attention was on Eren. ''I didn't think it was right to make you wait so long for the answers you nearly died for.''

Eren's face light up, while he was enjoying the company of Torin deep down all Eren wanted were the answers he had travelled long and hard for. The Beast King dismissed Torin who silently walked back to his home without turning back. ''I guess I should thank you for seeing me.'' Eren looked up to the King.''

''I am just glad to see you and the Coordinate safe from harm.'' He sighed. ''Speaking of which, before I answer your questions I want to know how you came to posses it.''

Eren gulped. ''It...It was my father, I was told that my father knew about the Reiss' and he went to them and took the Coordinate from them and then gave it to me.''

''Hhmm…'' The King hummed. ''It seems that Grisha gave his life to you boy.''

''What!?'' Eren shouted. Despite the great distance between his ears and Eren the Beast King could hear the boy perfectly.

''Grisha took the Coordinate into himself before turning you into a Titan and letting you eat him.'' He explained. ''He gave his life so that you could deliver the Coordinate, deliver it to us.''

''What do you mean? How do you know him?'' Eren asked as he and the King made their way through the streets, only now did he realise why the streets were so wide.

''Tell me Eren. Did your father ever tell you about his past? About his childhood?''

Eren looked down and pondered. ''No, I don't think he did.''

The Beast King laughed and mighty laugh and looked to the boy at his feet. ''That is because my boy Grisha Jeager was born here, in this village.'' Instantly Eren's eyes widened; it felt as if the floor beneath his feet had turned into quicksand. Eren knew his father as an enigmatic man who expelled an aura of wisdom and mystery, but never did he imagine that his father came from what might have well been another world. ''I know it must be a lot to take in but I can explain...If you wish to learn the truth.''

It didn't matter if it hurt, it didn't matter if everything Eren knew was a lie. He needed to know and he needed to know now. Eren looked up to the King and nodded.

''Well...sending Reiner, Bertolt, Marcel and Annie wasn't my first plan for getting the Coordinate. No, my first attempt was with Grisha,'' Eren was listening to each and every word, there was no way he was missing out on a single shred of information. ''He was the last of the Jeager family; or so we thought. His mother died in childbirth meaning he was an only child, an only child that grew up to take the power of his father. Your grandfather.''

''Dad never even mentioned him.'' Eren mumbled.

''The moment we learned that the Reiss family had the Coordinate I personally trained Grisha how to use his Titan powers, he was told to bring the Coordinate back to us where it could keep us safe. However a mission of such a dangerous nature required...special preparations. As a result just before he left I used almost all of my power to...to erase all his memories except for that one order.'' The Titan explained.

''You can do that?'' Eren was shocked that one could hold such power.

''Could do that. It took a great deal of strength and there was no guarantee it would work but looking at you now I'd say his mission was a success.'' The Titan was chuckling.

''Wait...if you already had someone in the Walls why did you send the Colossal Titan and the other to attack us?'' Eren asked angrily.

The Beast Titan sighed and raised a giant arm. ''Tell me boy what do you see?'' Eren's eyes followed his gesture, the King was pointing at a large central market place with a few people browsing the various stands. .

''I see a village of warriors.'' Eren moaned, he knew what the Beast King wanted to hear. Or at least he thought he did.

''Wrong.'' The Titan tutted. ''I see a village of survivors. We never wanted to attack the people of the Walls, however as we waited for Grisha to return the Feral attacks grew even more frequent, furiosus and costly until we reached a point where even I couldn't keep my own people safe. Look at Annie's younger sister for example.''

''You needed to flush the Reiss family out.'' The heavy cogs in Eren's head were starting to turn in tune with the King's words.

''Yes. We sent those three to attack the Walls in hope of bringing the Reiss' out of hiding so that our warriors could infiltrate the remaining territories, find it and bring it home.''

''So many died…'' Eren was finding that those that attacked his home were only doing so to save themselves from extinction.

''I know...Many years ago I begged the royal family to help us and save us and do you know what they did?'' The King asked. ''They shut their gates on us and left us to die in the cold wasteland you saw.''

''Don't think that you can change my position in this.'' Eren growled.

''You truly are your father's son. Grisha was always strong in spirit and it seems he passed it on to you .''

Hearing this only strengthened Eren's resolve further. He looked up to the King. ''I think we can cut straight now. What do you need from me?''

The Beast King seemed impressed by the confidence and power in Eren's voice, he came to a stop in front of him and leaned down until his face was less than a meter from Eren's.

''That's simple boy. ''I want you to build us the same Walls that defend your homes.''


	32. Hope can be a fickle thing

**A/N: Hello! This. Is. A. Long. Chapter. Over 8500 words so I hope your sitting comfortably when reading this. Anyway I want to thank my brilliant friend Ostara-san and Xdmath for helping my plan out this chapter. Speaking of which this chapter is full of several key moments for several characters so please do leave a review on what you think. It'll make my day!**

**Now I just want to say something. In the past I advised you to read 'the Maid' by Ostara-san. That story inspired me and got me through some tough days, it is more than just a story, it is something I read when I'm upset and need cheering up. I believe that if you love reading and have a passion for reading works of art then you owe it to yourself to read the Maid and show your support the brilliant author as she begins her next project. **

**Anyway enough of my ramblings. Read on and enjoy! **

* * *

''What!?'' Eren said coming to a complete stop. He was repeating the words of the Beast King over and over in his head trying to make sense of them. ''What are you talking about?''

The Beast King tilted his head slightly. ''I thought I made it quite clear, I need you to use the Coordinate to build the same Walls that currently keep your people safe.'' The repetition of the King's request did nothing to alleviate Eren's confusion.

''B-but I don't know how to use it.'' He protested weakly.

The Beast Titan knelt down to Eren's face. ''Tell that to that pack of Ferals that tore each other apart.'' He growled. ''I need those Walls to keep my people safe. The only question is whether you do it willingly or not.''

''You don't understand. I used it once but I don't know how I did it.'' Eren's explanation was interrupted by a drop of scarlet blood falling from his nose followed by another and then another. Soon there was a steady stream of the fluid fall from his nose, moments later a fiery pain rocketed through his head bringing Eren to his knees.

Immediately the Beast King recognised the dire fate Eren was facing. ''It seems that the Coordinate is rejecting you and a lot sooner than expected.'' He sighed. ''All this stress will only accelerate the process.''

Wiping away the red marks from his top lip Eren looked up at the King. ''Annie told me that you could help me. I'm not ready to die yet.''

The King smirked. ''Evidently not. However.'' His expression quickly changed to a deep and pentive frown. ''The Coordinate has been in your body for a long, long time. Tell me Eren, when did Grisha inject you with that serum?''

Eren looked down and thought back over the past years. At this point thinking back to the dream was painful, however after a couple of minutes of focusing Eren found the vision of his father and the syringe. ''I think it was five years ago.''

Eren noticed just how quickly the King's expression changed of one from pentive thinking to blatant worry. ''That long? And you never used it in all that time?'' Eren shook his head. ''If you woke it up after five years of sleeping in your body then we have a problem.'' He looked down to Eren and saw the fear in his wide eyes. ''I believe that the Coordinate has bound itself to your body...I'm so sorry but there is nothing I can do for you at this point.''

The instant the king finished his world shattering sentence tears had already formed in Eren's teal green eyes. ''But...there has to be something. How can the Reiss' do it?''

The Beast Titan sighed and scratched one of his pointed ears. ''Well the Coordinate is more accepting of the Reiss bloodline, it fits naturally. However since it was in your body for five years before being used, it was forced to accept you and is now stuck within your body.''

''So...I'm going to die.'' Eren's voice like his body was weak and frail.

''We all have to die boy. Even me, it is only a matter of if you have regrets or not when your time comes.'' Never did Eren imagine that he would be consoled by a Titan, let alone the Titan that sent three children to kill hundreds of thousands of people.

Hearing this caused Eren to think back to his veritable mountain of regrets. He regretted not having the strength to save his mother, he regretted spending his last fleeting moments with her arguing. He regretted his role in the deaths of the countless Survey Corps soldiers that lay down their lives to protect him on the expedition. Eren regretted making that impossible promise to Annie before the battle of Trost. Maybe if he hadn't of made that promise things might have turned out differently for the two of them. _That's the point of regrets I guess. If only I did this or didn't do that. _Eren thought to himself. ''I have quite a few.'' Eren said wiping away the tears that had fallen to his cheeks. ''How long do I have?''

''I can't say for sure. However you have a strong body to have lasted this long, if I were to guess then a few months perhaps.'' The King explained. He was about to stand and lead Eren back to Annie's home when a thought popped into his head, a thought that could possibly solve his problem. ''Actually Eren...There might be a way to save you and build the Walls.'' Even though it seemed Eren had reluctantly accepted his fate he was trying to think of some way to postpone his demise so hearing that the Beast King had an idea was an answer to his most desperate of prayers. ''Building the Walls would require an enormous amount of energy even with the Coordinate, it's possible that by building the Walls you could weaken the bond between you and the Coordinate enough for me to sever the bond.''

''Would that work?'' To anyone else the hope in Eren's voice would have been enough to melt the heart of anyone who would lie to a young, dying and desperate boy. However the Beast King had lived a long life filled with enough acts of violence and venomous lies to change him into something more than a man hidden inside a Titan.

''I can't promise you anything. But if you're willing to try then we should give it a shot.''

Eren was never one to back down from a fight. As a child he would constantly get into fights with the others boys in his home city over their bullying of his close friend Armin. After the fall of Wall Maria Eren had fought the elements themselves to make sure he and those close to him had enough to eat to see the next day. Joining the military provided Eren with seemingly endless challenges and tribulations to fight head on. Over the past five years Eren had faced what should have been certain death countless times but somehow he had made it out alive and he was confident that he could do it again.

''I'll do it.'' Gone was the fear and weakness from his voice, it had been replaced by a passionate fire, a fire lit in the hope of living to see the ocean and not in his dreams.

The Beast King smiled at the boy. 'In that case it's best you get some rest, we'll begin preparations for the construction in a few days. Do you know your way back to Annie's home?''

''Yeah I think I can find my way back.'' Eren wasn't sure if he should thank the Titan or not, he had given him hope of survival but at the same time it was his fault he was in this situation. In the end Eren didn't thank him and instead walked away, back to Annie, back to someone he could talk to without worry.

Once he was sure Eren was out of earshot The Beast King looked out across his village. ''Bertolt...you can come out now.''

From behind one of the market stalls a tall shadowy figure appeared. ''Did you really mean all that?'' He asked.

''I simply told Eren what he needed to hear.'' Bertolt looked down with balled fists. ''Oh please, you were lying to him for years so get down from your moral high ground.'' The Titan sneered.

Hearing this hurt, it caused Bertolt's chest to tighten as if someone had coiled a thick metal chain around him. ''Do...do you think Eren can do it?''

The Beast Titan hummed. ''He'll have to if we want to survive.'' He turned to face Bertolt and knelt down to him. ''Are you still prepared to do it? Once the Walls are built you won't be able to see your family again. Emmerich, Clementine, your father...Annie.''

''I know…'' Bertolt in the darkness the King could see Bertolt's shoulders quaking. ''It'll be for their future.''

''You have a couple of days Bertolt. Make them worth it. When the Walls are built you will keep your family and everyone safe. Remember that.'' He King explained before standing and leaving the lone boy standing in the blackness of night.

* * *

As Eren made his way through the town he held his head high. ''I can do it.'' He told himself. Eren's mind was a buzz or thoughts and ideas - if this plan worked he would have the world as his fingertips just waiting to be explored. ''I'd have to go back and find Mikasa and Armin.'' Immediately, the rest of Eren's words evaporated in his throat. Eren had been gone for a long time, he momentarily turned his thoughts to those left behind. The past few days had brought so much pain, joy, sadness and despair that Eren hadn't the time or energy think to his friends and the others that had been torn from him the moment Annie made it out of the forest. ''It's okay...I'll see them soon.''

Now that he was relatively safe Eren could spare the time to think back to family and friends. He wondered what they must be doing right now. It felt quite similar to when he was held in a cell under the royal capital, there he, like now, had no idea what was going on in outside world. The only difference now, he was now in the outside world. Armin was probably devising some brilliant strategy on how to find and rescue his best friend. Mikasa was most probably refining her already razor like abilities to take her mind off of the fact that Eren was so far away. As for the rest of the 104th well that was much harder to predict, Eren guessed they were struggling to come to terms with the fact three of the comrades, three of their friends were monsters who sole purpose for existence was the destruction of them and everything they had known.

Eren knew all too well the anger and more importantly the confusion that came with the revelation that had been thrust upon them. When he saw the Armoured Titan approaching Wall Maria with Bertolt, Ymir and the then Krista he felt a mighty hole open in his chest. In that moment the only way Eren could fill that hole was through violence and a brutal fist fight with the one Eren used to aspire to be.

Now they too were experiencing the anger, the confusion and the hole in their chests. But they didn't have anyone to direct their anger towards.

''They'll be safe...I know it.'' Eren assured himself. By now he had almost made it back to Annie's home however, seeing how he only arrived hours ago Eren had yet to figure out how to get from place to place in the village and before he knew it Eren was lost.

In an attempt the find his bearings Eren turned on his heels, but just as he feared Eren feared he was well and truly lost ''I swear her home was...this way.'' In all honesty Eren had no idea where he was heading. He was in fact walking in the exact opposite direction of his destination.

Eren was convinced he was going the right way, however it only took him a couple of minutes of hopeless wondering for Eren to realise the magnitude of his mistake. ''Okay...now what do I do?'' In the distance Eren could see a small figure walking between the various stalls and shops that made up the central market place. ''Excuse me.'' He called out, Eren began to walk towards the stranger when they noticed his they approached him Eren could see that they were a young girl.

''Can I help you?'' Her voice was quiet and weak, so much so Eren could barely hear her.

''Yeah, I'm well...lost. Can you show me where the Leonhardt house is?'' Upon hearing the name Leonhardt the girl recoiled slightly. As she got closer Eren could begin to make out what she looked like. In the dim light of candles and the moon Eren could easily make out her platinum blonde hair and murky brown eyes. Whoever she was she had a sharp face, in fact if it weren't for the oaky brown eyes Eren swore he could have mistaken her for Annie.

''Well...you turn around and head towards the river and then follow up stream. You, you can't miss it.'' Eren thanked her but before he left he had to ask her something.

''Are you by any chance related to Annie, you look just like her.'' Eren was never one for subtlety so it came as no surprise when the girl took a step back.

''Why should I answer you?'' After spending so many years with Annie Eren had become adept at picking up on the signature icy tone of her voice and as the final word left her lips Eren was sure that this was Annie's sister.

''You're Leila. Aren't you?'' Eren's reply came with the girl quickly turning on her heels and running in the opposite direction from him. ''I knew it.'' Eren was quite proud with himself, he had found Annie's sister and even identified her from sight and voice which was not an easy task.

Choosing not to pursue her further Eren decided to follow the directions Leila had given him. He turned around and began following the gentle sound of flowing water. It didn't take him long to find the river, it was about three or four meters wide and the water was flowing at a fairly fast pace meaning it was easy to tell what direction Eren should start walking.

Eren started trekking up stream just as he had been instructed, he wasn't sure how far he would have to walk before reaching Annie's home but in all honesty he didn't mind. The walk gave him time to think. The King's request had shaken Eren to his very core, in light of the revelation Eren had been too bewildered to ask any meaningful questions. ''How could the Coordinate build walls?'' He asked himself. It made no sense, as the King explained it seemed that the Coordinate could somewhat control Titans but that wouldn't help build walls unless…

''The Walls are made of Titans…'' It suddenly dawned on Eren, in that single instant the question that had been whittling away at him and many others since he was old enough to look up at the Walls. Where did they come from? Well now he knew and he could barely believe it. Eren couldn't help but break out into a grim smirk, it was after all hilariously ironic. The Walls that defended humanity from the unequivocal hunger of the Titans were actually made of the beasts that relentlessly hunted the human species.

Eren stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked parallel to the river, he was deep in thought and the gentle sounds of the flowing river helped to settle the bizarre and abnormal theories that were buzzing through his head. ''Armin and Hanji would kill to learn that.'' Eren chuckled. ''To think there is an entire religion dedicated to following them...those idiots.'' As of yet Eren had no idea that the Wallist cult knew all too well the secrets held within those those dull grey walls. His thoughts began to shift to monolithic structures and as he looked up to the black rocks of the volcano that currently currently surrounded him, Eren could see why the King needed those walls. The lining of the caldera was dotted with passes and pathways more than big enough for Titans to meander through. ''I wonder what they'd look like?'' Eren hummed as he strolled alongside the river.

''Are you talking to yourself again?'' Eren felt a warmth flow through his veins upon hearing Annie's voice.

''I don't see a problem with it.'' Eren shrugged as he turned to to look at Annie. ''Besides you seem to do it every now and again.'' In the darkness Eren couldn't see the brief wave of hurt that washed over her.

_He has you there Annie, _Grief giggled. _Despite all your attempts to hide us it seems that Eren had been paying very close attention. _Added the snake. Annie wanted to scold the creature in her mind but doing so would only prove Eren's point. Instead she decided to try and play it off against him. ''I didn't realise you were paying so much attention to me.'' She hummed.

''Well you know...It's a habit.'' He chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

''It shouldn't be.'' Annie had thought that she had whispered this comment but judging by the look of sadness on Eren's face it seems she had said it loud enough.

''Why not though? I mean we're safe now and the King has a plan to save me.'' Eren started to walk towards Annie as he spoke. ''Once I'm okay and your people are safe we can go wherever we want. I mean just think of it, me and you out there in the world.''

''And what about Mikasa, Armin and those that are still waiting for you to return?'' Annie sighed.

Eren balled his fists and without even realising it, he temporarily lost track of where he was and the magnitude of his location. ''They can come with us. All of them can, we can go to the ocean together. We'll be the first people to find it.'' Annie could see such childish hope and naivety in his eyes that it hurt to look into his eyes any longer.

''Eren stop this. You know I can never go back, just think about it please. The moment I show my face they'll take me somewhere deep underground and spend days if not years cutting me up to find out what makes me tick.'' She needed to try and show Eren the reality of their situation before he did something that he would inevitably regret.

''If...if we explain to them then they'll see.'' With the hope the Beast Titan had ignited in his heart Eren wanted so hard to believe that things could back to the way they were before.

Annie needed to stop this now, it was hurting Eren and now it was beginning to burn her own heart. ''Do you honestly believe that after we have all done someone like Mikasa is just going to welcome me back with open arms and a happy smile?'' This seemed to bring Eren's child like dreams to a stop. ''We are from two different worlds Eren, you can't belong to both.''

Eren started to walk towards her once again. ''Why not? Why can't we be together? Tell me Ann.'' Each word caused a crack to form in Annie's already weakened armour.

Annie knew how to halt Eren in his tracks, it would hurt her so much. Eren was still in love with her that much was obvious, but it seemed that Eren had forgotten his hatred for the Female Titan. To save him from following the same bloody path that she had gone down she needed to remind him of that hatred, she needed to rekindle that fire.

''Because I'm the one who killed Marco.'' Annie knew that her words would cut deep into Eren's heart but Annie wasn't prepared to see the hurt filled tears well up in his eyes. Each word burned both her and Eren, she was using her bloodiest crimes to try and get Eren, the boy she loved to hate her. ''Because I'm the one who wiped out the Survey Corps on the expedition.'' Despite bringing up memories that made her want to vomit and cry Eren kept on walking towards her. ''Because I led the Titan that killed your mother through the hole we created.'' For a moment Eren stopped, his eyes were locked on the floor and Annie was grateful beyond words, she had no idea if she could have held back her own tears if she had seen the expression of pure sadness and exhaustion on Eren's face. ''Because for three years I lied to you.'' Annie let out a shaky breath. ''Come on Eren, we both know why.''

Annie had succeeded. She had shown Eren that despite their closeness and past she was still the one who ruined his life. Now she just had to deal with the consequences.

Moving as if a lightning bolt had been shot through him Eren rushed forward, Annie instinctively raised her arms into her classic defensive stance. She needed Eren to really truly hate her and if that involved beating him into the ground then so be it. In his anger Eren seemed to have forgotten the techniques she had taught him, he raised a tightly balled fist and brought it crashing down on to where Annie's head should have been.

If she had dodged a second later Eren's strike would have landed, Annie ducked underneath the attack and launched herself upwards, hooking her arm around his neck Annie had created the perfect opportunity to send Eren to the floor. Using her foot she kicked out one of Eren's legs and in his confusion and rage he had no time to defend or prepare for her counter. Both Eren and Annie went to the floor, however Eren's back took the full force of the impact as pain shot through his torso. Annie quickly stood and took several steps back.

It took only moments for Eren to get to his feet, once there he coughed a painful bark and locked his eyes on Annie. After catching his breath Eren broke out into a sprint, it would only take him a couple of seconds to reach Annie but she was more than prepared. Just as Eren reached out to clamp his hands around Annie's throat she shifted to the side and swung her leg around in a wide arc. Just like that day three years ago her leg struck Eren's calf and he fell to the floor in a cloud of dust.

''I loved you.'' He growled. Deep down Annie was glad that he had used the past tense. ''I gave you everything.''

''I know. It was a mistake on both our parts.'' It was taking a tremendous amount of focus to stop her voice from cracking. ''I shouldn't have taught you or even gotten close to you.''

''Then why did you?'' Eren spat into the dirt as he stood up. ''If it was such a big mistake then why did you teach me and get close to me?''

Annie's breath hitched and she took a step back. She had asked herself that question hundreds of times and not once could she think of an answer that excused her behaviour. During their years of training Annie had loved Eren, she risked everything to be with him purely because at times he could make her heart flutter.

Using her momentary lapse in concentration Eren lunged forward and managed to catch Annie off guard. Utilising his superior strength he managed to throw Annie against one of the trees that lined the river bank, Annie's head was knocked back against the hard bark of the tree temporarily blinding her. Eren rushed up to her and bared his forearm against her neck.

By the time Annie's vision returned to her all she could see were Eren's rage filled eyes bearing down on her. Eren was far stronger than Annie and this position there was little she could to do dislodge his vice like hold. The wound to the back of her head started to burn as strands of skin began knitting back together, Eren's eyes flicked to the thin wisp of steam that was rising into the sky. Seeing this as he opportunity Annie hammered her elbow down onto Eren's arm in an attempt to break his hold on her. Immediately Eren's arm went limp and she fell to the grassy bank, Eren reached down with his free hand and tried to grab her but Annie was too quick. Moving like water she slid to the side and pushed Eren's head into the tree trunk with a mighty thud.

Annie took several steps back and assumed her signature pose, with her arms raised and her left foot resting half a pace back on her toes Annie was more than prepared for any attack Eren threw at her.

This time it took more than a few seconds for Eren to be able to find his footing, like Annie there was a thin pillar of steam rising from his forehead where a shard of bark had cut him. Blood was trailing down his forehead and face before dripping down from his chin. Annie had beaten him several times by now but Eren showed no signs of giving up. _It wouldn't be like him to just quit would it? _Grief hummed. Just as the snake finished it's sentence Eren began running towards her. ''You're right, but I'm going to have to end this sooner or later.'' Annie said in agreement.

The moment Eren entered her range Annie took a sharp breath in and twisted her hips and raised her left leg into the air. _Just like in the forest. _The serpent chuckled. Annie was going to end this even if it cost Eren a few broken ribs. As her leg flew through the air in a wide and devastating arc Annie saw something that made her blood run cold. Eren was smiling a most venomous of smiles. It was at this moment Annie realised the impact of her mistake.

Eren skidded to his knees and readied an open hand at the side of his neck. It was too late for Annie to stop her strike now, she had gained too much momentum, all she could do now was prepare.

Annie's calf struck Eren's open hand, Annie heard him grunt in pain as he clamped his free hand around her leg. Using her own strength Eren moved with the momentum that had been directed towards him and using all his strength he swung Annie around and threw her into the hard ground. Annie screamed a dull scream in pain as she felt something in her right arm snap upon impact. Before she could even think of standing up Eren was already on top of her. It was just like last time, all those years ago Eren had used that move in one of their many sparring fights and it had worked perfectly. Both times. Eren was now straddling her waist with his and had one hand around her neck with a grip tight enough to make it difficult for Annie to breath in. The other hand was balled into a tight fist and aimed directly at her face.

''I...win…'' Eren huffed. Annie knew that if she struck the inside of Eren's arm then she could easily reverse their current positions however what she couldn't be sure that Eren wouldn't crush her throat before she had a chance. Eren had won.

Annie looked up into Eren's eyes and the world around her seemingly came to a sudden stop. Eren's entire body was shaking with pure rage, in the past he had taken his anger and fury out on those around him, Titan or not. But now he was in the perfect position to unleash his justifiable hatred on her. Yet his fist didn't so much as move an inch towards her.

Earlier Eren had thought back to the rest of the 104th and how they had no way to direct their betrayal or outrage, he thought how horrible it must be to have such pent up anger and not have any viable release and he was the one who had a release, a punching bag right in front of him but he couldn't bring himself to strike her.

''Why did you push me this far?'' It didn't matter to Eren that his voice was weak and filled with cracks. ''Why did you tell me all that?''

_Are you going to answer him? _Grief asked.

'I taught you to use your strength. So use it.'' Annie whispered up to him. _He deserves at least that. _Once again Annie found herself agreeing with the snake. As Annie looked up and saw saddening rage, Eren looked down and saw lonely exhaustion. Even now that she was home the weight of her crimes was still pulling her down.

Eren took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled the same way. The tremors in his body calmed slightly and the boiling rage in his blood cooled, leaving him both tired and totally lost on the subject of what to do next. His face was a mere foot away from Annie's and as he looked down on her in the weak light of the moon and saw the girl that he fell in love with three years ago. He lowered his face to hers ever so slowly, in fact it took Annie several seconds to realise what Eren was doing.

_What!? How can he? How can he love you after that? _Greif was revolted that after her confession Eren could still look at Annie with such love and compassion. Annie couldn't help but smile at the distress Grief was experiencing. _I guess that's who he is. Ann if he still loves you then maybe it is possible. _Annie hadn't heard the dulcet tones of Hope in a long time, after all the chaos of the past few days had left no room for such a luxury. _If Eren is willing to accept you then things can back to the way they were. _Perhaps Hope was right, by the looks of it Eren was more than willing to look past her bloody crimes because under it all he still loved her.

Annie tilted her head up to meet Eren's embrace, it had been so long since she and Eren were like this. Since the battle of Trost Annie had never imagined or planned to end up in this position. The tension between them was tangible as Eren's dry, cracked lips got closer and closer with each passing second. To both Annie and Eren it seemed as if the world around them had come to a complete stop and all they could both focus on was each other.

Ever since Eren discovered Annie's identity he had been struggling to deal with the chasm that had formed in his mind that separated Annie and the Female Titan. Right now however Eren simply didn't care for the blood on her hands. They were now only a handful of centimeters away and Annie could feel Eren's hot breath tickle her face. Neither of them took their eyes off each other, not even when Eren rushed forward to seal the gap between them.

* * *

For the first time in a long, long time Annie had hope that her future could be one that she shared with Eren. It was a childish dream, one that she would quickly dismiss whenever the thought would arrive in the past, but now it was not just a thought. Now it was a reality. There was Eren, looming above her with a fist ready to be brought down upon her yet it was his lips that were approaching her instead. If Eren could still love her then surely she could be given a second chance.

Or at least that what's she hoped for.

Once Eren's face was only a few centimetres away Annie slowly closed her eyes and awaited the warm sensation of Eren's lips against hers. However just before their embrace Eren's forehead gently brushed against Annie's and in that instant Annie remembered how cruel hope can be and that second chances were nothing more than a dream.

In the moment in which their fore heads touched Eren unintentionally Unraveled with Annie and what he saw made him want to throw up.

As Eren entered Annie's memories in a flash of blinding light he came to the tragic conclusion that no matter how hard he tried look past it, deny it or accept it Annie was the Female Titan.

* * *

As the light cleared all Eren could see were trees and not the normal oak trees that littered the landscape. These trees were far, far taller. In the coming seconds Eren's vision cleared even further, focusing to the point where he could make out what looked to tiny green specks flying through the air.

There were three of them in total and all of them were holding what looked to be two tiny, shiny sticks. Eren's confused eyes widened with sudden realisation. He knew where he was, or to be more accurate. Who he was.

Eren was looking through Annie's eyes as she brutally murdered the hand picked best of the Survey Corps one after another.

During the fight that felt like it took place in a different age Eren had tried to put as much distance between him and the Female Titan as possible, but now it was impossible to get away from the ugly and bloody truth.

Eren was astounded with the finesse, razor like precision and astonishing teamwork employed by the famous Levi squad. Eren could even feel the cold exhausts Eld had released to temporarily blind the encroaching Titan. Meaning he could feel the drilling blades Petra and Oluo drove into Annie's eyes and it hurt, it hurt so much. While the world around him had been plunged into darkness Eren's sense of hearing was undamaged, as a result he could clearly hear the sounds of rushing gas and metal against wood and flesh.

Along with his hearing Eren's sense of touch was untampered so when he slammed his back against a tree he felt the shockwaves pass through his entire body. Only now was Eren beginning to understand the fear Annie must have felt while trying to capture him. He was in a dark, dark world surrounded by people who were doing their very best to kill him. From that point on Eren would always remember the sensation of the metal blades rending away Annie's flesh, from her arms and shoulders.

It was at that moment Eren tasted the blood of Eld Jinn and felt the cracking of bones between his teeth. The taste was revolting, it was a thick coppery feeling against his tongue, one that he wouldn't forget any time soon. _Annie went through this? She tasted this? _Eren thought to himself as light flooded into his one regenerated eye. As his vision cleared Eren caught a glimpse of light blonde hair flying limply through the air before landing in an unnatural angle on the grassy forest floor.

As the Female Titan stood Eren could see his sight focus on one of the two remaining soldiers. A young woman with strawberry blonde hair. Even with only one functioning eye Eren could perfectly make out the fearful expression on Petra's face as Annie slammed her foot against her back with a stomach shuddering snap.

Two down, only one to go. Eren had no idea that when Annie hardened her vulnerable skin into impenetrable crystal it hurt as much as it did. It felt like a cold stabbing sensation, as if someone was jabbing hundreds of tiny needles into his neck.

Eren heard a hollow ringing sound as Oluo's blades shattered against against Annie's neck. As Annie launched a kick that would send him flying into the loneliness of the forest Eren could only think. _Who would volunteer to do this? _The instant Eren saw a blinding flash of yellow lightning reach into the sky and heard a ground shaking roar the Unraveling ended.

* * *

Eren threw himself off of Annie and landed on back. His pupils were greatly dilated to a point where most of his eyes were entirely coal black. He stared at Annie's unmoving body for only a handful of seconds before his stomach convulsed and what food he had eaten earlier can back up in violent fit of vomiting.

''E...Eren?'' Annie's voice was nothing more than a weak croak. Her ocean blue eyes fluttered open and quickly focused on Eren. ''What...What happened.

''Stay away from me!'' Eren roared, each word burned in his chest but that didn't stop him. ''Just stay away!''

Suddenly Annie's eyes widened as she realised what Eren had done. ''What did you see?'' With each passing second Annie was becoming stronger and stronger and more aware.

''I saw what you did! In the forest I saw what you did to all those soldiers.'' He spat. Eren couldn't even look her in the eye as he spoke.

''You saw that when it happened. I...I thought you could look past that.'' Annie said as she struggled to stand.

''No. I saw it happen through your eyes! I tasted Eld's blood, I heard Petra's screams, I felt Oluo's blade.'' With each name the memories came back stronger and more vivid causing Eren to double over, coughing and vomiting. ''You are a monster!'' This time Eren looked Annie in the eyes and what she saw almost broke her heart. ''I loved Annie, the Annie I knew. The Annie who taught me how to fight and use...use my strength. The Annie that lied to me.'' Eren made no attempt to hide his tears. ''I don't love the monster who killed my allies and friends...I don't love you.'' With that Eren tore his burning gaze off of Annie and stormed off into the night, leaving Annie to the mercy of Grief.

_I warned you. How can Eren hold your hands when they are so, so soaked with blood? _Grief asked. _You're lucky that Eren didn't come back to give you what you deserve. _The snake added. ''Go away. Just for a bit.'' Annie begged as she brought her knees up to her chest. _Well...now you have your answer Ann. Eren can't love you. _With that Grief left Annie to the cold and silence of the night as the serpent coiled up into the darkness of Annie's mind.

* * *

''I was wrong! I was wrong!'' Eren repeated to himself. Since leaving Annie by the side of the river Eren had continued walking upstream. ''What was I thinking?''

''Whatever you're thinking seems to be bothering you quite a lot.'' Torin chuckled as Eren strode right past him. ''So what are you thinking?'' He said taking a step towards him.

Eren took a deep breath and faced Annie's father. ''You...You don't want to know.'' He huffed.

Torin gave him a sceptical look before gesturing to Eren to follow him. ''Come with me.'' In all honesty Eren wanted nothing more than to be left alone with his thoughts. ''Come, come.'' Torin once again gestured for him to follow. Eren sighed and fell in line with Torin.

Both of them walked in silence, Eren had no idea where he was being led but he didn't care. He just wanted to get as far away from Annie as humanly possible. They kept walking for about ten minutes before a dim flickering orange light appeared in the distance. They had arrived back at Annie's home.

As soon as he realised this Eren stopped in his tracks. ''Look, I can't be around Annie right now.'' Eren wasn't going to explain what happened but he was going to be adamant on not seeing Annie for as long as possible.

''What makes you think she'd come here? She survived five years inside the Walls and by the sounds of it she didn't spend much time around others.'' Torin sighed and rubbed his temples. ''She's probably on her own practising her kicks, which is what we're going to do now.'' Torin pointed to a series of short wooden poles sticking out of the ground just a few yards from the house.

''What?'' Eren gawked.

''I find the best way to overcome...well whatever it is you need to overcome is through this.'' Torin explained as he pointed to the poles. ''Come on.'' Eren sighed and made his way over to the closest pole. ''I assume my daughter taught you how to kick?'' To which Eren nodded. ''Good. Now kick the sandbag.'' Eren looked at Torin and then the pole. ''Go on.'' Eren sighed and took a deep breath before assuming the stance Annie had taught him. He had taken up this position many times but now it felt...wrong and dirty. Nevertheless Eren stepped back and with only a fraction of his strength he swung his leg into the pole.

* * *

In the coming days Eren would think back to the pain in his legs and the temporary bruises left behind fondly and always regret not thanking Torin for helping him.

* * *

After the tenth kick or so Eren's left leg was starting to go numb from the pain of striking the sandbag over and over again. ''Can we stop now?'' Eren huffed.

''No.'' It was an answer plain and simple. ''Keep kicking.'' Eren glared at him but he soon turned around and slammed his other leg into the wooden pole. Eren wasn't going to admit it but he actually thankful that Torin had talked him into this exercise, each strike took sapped some of anger from his veins. Eren still held a great deal of anger and hatred towards Annie but now, now it was quelled to a point where he was capable of vaguely rational thought.

Eren had kicked the post what felt like hundreds of times, even his healing abilities were struggling to keep up with the number of bruises on his legs, but Torin wasn't finished with him. ''Good, now you've warmed up,'' Torin moved like water as he assumed the stance he had seen Annie take up so many times. ''Let's do some sparring.'' Torin left no time for Eren to protest. Eren only had the chance to throw his hands up in defence and gasp as Torin rushed forward and drove his knee into Eren's abdomen. The air in Eren's lungs was forced out of him in one mighty barking cough. Eren glared at Torin before dragging himself to his feet. ''That's it! Stand, don't you ever give up.'' After replacing all the oxygen that had been removed in that one kick Eren took up the same stance.

Torin grinned and rushed forward once again, he prepared his to ram the same knee into Eren's midsection but as he launched his attack Eren fell to his knees and crossed his arms. Torin's calf flew straight into his defence with a bone quaking thud. ''You've got some strong arms there boy.'' Torin barked before stepping back and swinging the same leg around in an arc. It leg caught Eren's exposed ankles, sending him crashing to the floor.

_How could he do that? I'm so low to the ground, I should be near impossible to move. _Eren thought as he picked himself up yet again. This time Eren was determined to make the next strike. He ran towards Torin before digging his feet into the dirt, using all his strength and weight he brought his leg around and aimed it at Torin's side. Eren assumed that due to his less than intimidating height Torin's defence was quite weak. He planned for Torin to dodge to the side where Eren would follow through with an arcing kick.

When Torin took the strike directly to his side Eren didn't have time to hide his shock. Torin grinned before catching Eren's leg and hammering his elbow down on his knee and calf. Eren roared out in pain as Torin brought his elbow crashing down over and over again. Between the intense clouds of agony Eren saw no way out of his current position, Torin's grip was too strong and with each attack Eren lost focus on the situation.

Torin showed no signs of letting up and amidst the burning pain emanating from his legs Eren came up with a strategy to break Torin's grip. As he lifted his elbow Eren took a deep breath in and with all his dwindling strength Eren threw his undamaged leg around Torin's neck.

Wrapping his leg around his neck immediately caught Torin off guard. With nothing to support his weight Eren came tumbling down, bringing Torin with him. As they fell Torin let go of Eren's leg and used his hands to break his fall however by the time he had landed Eren was already on his feet. As Torin stood Eren assumed the Leonhart signature stance and beckoned for Torin to make the next move, Eren's leg was already healing and he was more than prepared.

''Okay boy, that was a good one, I'll give you that.'' Torin huffed before charging Eren with a balled fist.

_Come and get it old man. _Eren thought to himself as Torin closed in. When he was roughly a meter away Eren too began charging towards him with a fist directed towards his midsection. Both he and Torin had the same plan, it was only a matter of who pulled it off first. In the end it was Torin who swung first, if he could get Eren to block then he could easily follow through with a powerful throw. However Eren saw the attack coming and he was more than adequately prepared. Just as Torin began swinging his fist Eren ducked underneath the strike, rarely was Torin shocked but just before he counted Eren could clearly see the foreign expression on his face. Using all the strength in his legs Eren launched himself up at the man and in one fluid movement hooked his arm around his neck, he knew that Torin's strength would make him difficult to topple but for the time being he had the advantage.

Using his now fully recovered leg Eren was able to painlessly sweep Torin's feet out from under him. It was one of the only times that Eren would be thankful for the 'benefits' his Titan shifting gave him. Moments later Torin Leonhart was lying in a cloud of dust while Eren stood above him. Seconds later the adrenaline that had fueled the past half an hour of sparring and kicking vanished from Eren's bloodstream and immediately Eren came crashing to the floor, his lungs heaving to replace the oxygen Eren had used in the final moments of the fight. ''Are...Are we done?'' Eren said after several unsuccessful attempts.

After standing Torin made his way over to Eren and smirked. ''That depends. Are you finished?'' Eren chuckled quietly before slowly and painfully standing. ''Come, while you were gone I got some food. You look like you could do with a hot meal, drink and some time next to the fireplace.'' Eren's reply came in the form of a small smile and a hurried nod. ''Good. Now come inside. Your friends are waiting.'' As Eren limped back to the house Torin turned to him while waiting beside the door. ''You know your friends can be quite helpful. Especially the shifter'' Torin was never one to hide things, when he said Ymir, the girl who killed and devoured Marcel was helping him, he meant it.

''Ymir only helps out when it benefits herself or those she cares about.'' Eren shrugged as he leaned on the door.

''Oh? Isn't that why most people help each other?'' Torin hummed before opening the door.

* * *

Inside Ymir and Historia were sat by the fire throwing large logs onto the flames. Hearing the door open Ymir craned her head around to greet both Eren and Torin. ''Hey, welcome back grumpy guts.'' Ymir waved to him as he stepped inside.

''You were gone for ages. What were you doing?'' Historia asked. ''Torin told us that you were talking to King but that was ages ago.''

''Yeah...I had some stuff to deal with.'' Eren didn't meet Historia's piercing gaze.

''That 'stuff' whatever it was looks exhausting and filthy, you're covered in dirt.'' Being as inquisitive as she was Ymir couldn't help but pick up on these details.

''I thought I'd give Eren some time to work out whatever it is that's weighing on his mind.'' Torin explained taking some of the attention off of a clearly uncomfortable Eren. ''Anyway, did you do as I asked.''

Historia nodded. ''The fire's been going for a while now and the water's just boiled.''

''Thank you.'' Torin said before turning to Eren. ''Go upstairs and have a bath, in the meantime we'll wash your clothes, it's the first door you see when you get up there.''

Eren thanked him, Historia and even Ymir before heading upstairs. When he was out of earshot Historia turned to Torin. ''So what's up with Eren, I've never really seen him looking so...broken.''

Torin chuckled softly. ''Nothing really gets past you does it. I was trying to exhaust him to hide it. I think something has happened between Eren and Annie.'' He sighed.

''Nothing new there.'' Ymir huffed and even Historia couldn't help but smirk.

* * *

While Eren enjoyed the warmth of the bathtub Annie was sat with her feet dipping into the cold waters of the river Eve.

_Annie. You've been out here a long time. _Grief hissed softly but Annie showed no indication that she had heard the snake. _You should probably go home now. _Once again no reply. _You can't ignore us forever. _

''I was wrong to think that Eren could...think of me like that again.'' Annie said weakly as she stared at her reflection.

_We warned you. _Grief sighed. _It's okay...there's no one around. _With that the serpent gave Annie some much needed privacy as her tears fell into the river below.


	33. Practise makes Perfect

**A/N: Well I'm going to start by apologising. It's been too long since I updated but I've been dealing with exams and studying along with my personal life. However I'm happy to report that I have regained my writing mojo! This chapter was certainly interesting to write, we haven't seen or heard too much of Ymir of Historia since arriving at the village so I think it's time to hear from them now. **

**Now it's time for me to fawn over a new story. Last chapter (if you read this part) I talked about the writer Ostara-san. They wrote 'The Maid' and that story was incredible. Well now they have written a new story. 'The Scarlet Scarf.' There are only a few chapters but my goodness those chapters are heart pounding. So anyway before you hopefully go and read 'The Scarlet Scarf' You'll read this chapter and leave a review of what you thought! **

**Read on and enjoy! **

* * *

That night Eren had struggled to sleep, every time he closed his eyes the visions of the Female Titan and the soldiers would loop over and over again in his mind. The one time he had managed to get to sleep simply due to pure exhaustion, his dreams were plagued with the sights, sounds, smells and even the tastes from what he had experienced while inside of Annie's memories. Eren had awoken only moments later veritably dripping with sweat.

From that point on Eren had decided that trying to get some meaningful rest was simply a waste of time. Instead of lying around and staring up at the ceiling Eren decided to go and do something useful with his time. After getting out of the bath he had learned that it was almost midnight and seeing how he spent an hour twisting and turning in bed that meant that it was practically the middle of the night.

Eren needed to make sure that he didn't wake anyone. Eren rarely wanted to be around Ymir at the best of times, he especially didn't want to be around her after waking her up when she would almost certainly be in a foul mood. It took almost half an hour for Eren to silently sneak through the Leonhart household, the fact that it was a home that he had spent very little time in didn't help. Due to the disorientating surroundings and near blinding darkness Eren didn't notice that Ymir and Historia were missing.

When it came to opening the door Eren made a mental note of how loud it was when ever he so slowly opened the door. Once he made it outside Eren let out a long, relief filled sigh. The first thing he did upon making it outside was look straight up to the sky. Eren was disappointed with the sight above him, a thick layer of clouds had spread over the village thus covering the expansive starry sky Eren had come to love.

Since arriving at the village one thought, one wish had been digging away at Eren's mind. He wanted desperately to climb to the top of the surrounding caldera and take in the view of the entire world. However during his time at the town Eren hadn't had the time or chance to do so, now though Eren was alone meaning that given enough time he could easily climb to the summit of the dead volcano. Firstly to achieve his dream Eren had to find a suitable place to start climbing.

Pretty much the entirety of the volcanic walls were nothing more than sheer faces and while he had confidence in his own climbing abilities Eren knew there was no chance of him climbing the hundreds of feet to the summit. Eren decided that his best option was to go back to the river and follow it up to the wall of the caldera and find somewhere to climb from there.

It took very little time for Eren to find his way back to the river. As he had expected Annie was gone and in all honesty Eren didn't care where she was. All that mattered was that Annie was nowhere to be seen and Eren could easily follow the river back up to his destination. As he walked Eren couldn't help but think back to his confrontation with Annie mere hours ago.

''What the hell was I thinking?'' Eren scalded himself. ''How could I forget what she had done?'' With a quick strike Eren slammed his balled fist into his temples. For a single moment when Eren was poised over Annie he had been reminded just how beautiful she was and just how much he missed her. The night before while sitting on the banks of the river Eve both Annie and Eren had held each other's hands in their own to remind them that their long, painful journey was almost over. As a result Eren had believed that perhaps they had a chance, that by making it to the village then maybe Eren and Annie would have a chance to overcome the divide between them.

However when Eren had unwittingly Unraveled with Annie he had learned that no matter how much he missed the Annie he knew no amount of time or determination would bring back the days, weeks, months and years they spent together.

''I just need to build these walls and then I'm out of here.'' Eren assured himself. ''I'll go back to Armin, Mikasa and the others and tell them about this place. They need to know about it all.''

''Talking to yourself? People will start thinking you're crazy.'' Eren had been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard Reiner's footsteps until he was right behind him.

Eren physically jumped upon hearing Reiner's question, once he had regained his composure he turned on Reiner with blatant anger in his eyes. ''What are you doing here?''

''This is _my _home. I think I have the right to walk around my home town when I please.'' Reiner shrugged. ''It just so happened that I heard a very angry sounding Titan shifter so I thought I'd come to see what all the fuss was about.''

''It's none of your business.'' Eren deadpanned before heading off again.

Reiner sighed and rubbed his temples before chasing after him.''Look, I know you hate me and wouldn't mind killing me but believe it or not I could help you out.''

Eren didn't bother to suppress his dry bark of a laugh. ''Why would you help me? Don't you have a family to see after your 'important' mission?''

A brief wave of hurt flashed across Reiner's face, it was clear to Eren that his words for whatever reason had cut deep into Reiner but Eren just didn't care. ''To be honest it's not a long story and it's not even very good.''

''Do you think I care?'' Not once did Eren face Reiner as he spoke.

''If you're out at this hour then you can at least humor me.'' After deliberating Reiner's offer for a minute Eren sighed and nodded. ''Come on, let's walk and talk.'' With that Reiner started walking upstream just as Eren had been doing minutes earlier.

''So tell me. Why aren't you with your family?'' Eren asked.

''I take it Annie or someone else told you what happened to our mothers.'' Eren simply nodded. ''Well my dad wasn't as...understanding as Torin. The moment I came out of my Titan he kicked me out and told my brothers that I had killed my mum, they weren't old enough to understand so they just believed him.'' With each word a fraction of the weight on Reiner's broad shoulders was lifted.

''Well you did kill and eat your mother.'' Eren pointed out with enough ice in his voice to make Reiner chuckle dryly.

''There really is no chance of me getting any sympathy from you is there?''

''What did you expect? I'm not going to forgive you just because your childhood was rough.'' Eren deadpanned.

Reiner had to double take back at Eren who still wouldn't even look at him. ''You sure have changed from that angry kid I knew back in training.''

This time Eren did look up from the stream to face Reiner, only to give him the strongest and most poisonous glare he could muster in his exhausted state. ''People change. You should know that more than anyone.''

''That's a bit harsh Eren.'' Reiner sighed brushing the back of his head with his hand. ''My own dad threw a nine year old onto the streets. Do you get what that must be like?''

Eren had had enough of Reiner whining about his childhood. Before Reiner had a chance to stop him Eren turned rushed forward and placed his foot right behind Reiner's before taking his face in his hand. Using only a fraction of his strength Eren easily sent Reiner crashing to the floor. ''Do you get what it must feel like to see a skinless giant look down on you like you're scum to be exterminated? Do you get what it must feel like to try and save your family but be forced to watch as your family is torn away from you?'' Eren shouted down through the cloud of dirt Reiner kicked up. ''I couldn't care less about what happened to you, Bertolt...or Annie. All I want is to build those damn Walls so I can go home.''

''Wait. What walls?'' Reiner groaned as he slowly picked himself up.

''The walls the King wants to build with the Coordinate.'' Eren explained. ''Isn't that why you guys brought me here?''

''We were just told to bring the Coordinate back home with us, we had no idea what he was going to do with it.'' During their mission Annie and Reiner frequently questioned the motives of their King. Of course they never openly asked such questions but on the rare occasion that they would speak of their mission Reiner would often bring up the reason for their being inside the Walls. Annie would usually second Reiner's inquires albeit with less enthusiasm, however Bertolt would put their concerns to rest by simply reminding them that the sooner they finished their mission the sooner they could go home.

Eren couldn't understand that Reiner and the others would embark on such a mission without knowing the reason behind abandoning their families in the process ''You'd just blindly follow orders like that?''

''You think me, Annie, Bertie and Marcel were the only ones chosen? There were over a hundred candidates for the mission. Those that refused to kill their own mothers were dropped. Most of those that did went mad and nearly all of them killed themselves. Us four were the ones left. In fact quite a lot of them failed to control their powers and turned into Feral Titans straight away.'' Despite his hatred towards Reiner Eren couldn't help but listen with great attention. ''While we stood on top of Wall Maria you asked me what our King does to produce monsters like us. Well...now you know. If we didn't do as ordered he would simply feed us to a warrior who was more...willing to follow orders.''

Eren seemed visibly disgusted as Reiner spoke but he still couldn't get over the fact that they went through all they did without knowing the reason for doing so. ''So you really had no idea about building the walls here?''

''No, I always wanted to know what the Coordinate was for but the King isn't exactly the most open or approachable person ever.'' Reiner momentarily looked down to the ground. ''If you can call him a person.'' He muttered.''Eren, I know it's a lot to ask but can you explain these walls to me.'' Reiner asked.

Eren sighed. ''I don't know much but the King said that I can use the Coordinate to build the same walls that defend humanity.''

Reiner gave him a sceptical look. ''How does that work?''

''I don't know.'' Eren shrugged. ''The King didn't tell me. But I thought that if the Coordinate can control Titans then the Walls must be made of Titans. I know it sounds crazy but that's all I could think of.''

''It seems Armin's creepy level of intelligence had rubbed off on you.'' Reiner chuckled before hardening his expression. ''But your thinking isn't too farfetched. The Coordinate does more than simply let you tell a Titan what to do.'' Eren raised an eyebrow. ''It forces your will upon them. If you will it then the Titans will do it, or so I'm told. So if you wanted the Titan's to line up and harden their skin then it should be possible to build a wall like yours. The only problem is there aren't any Titan's large enough. Other than Bertolt's Titan the largest Titan I've seen was only twenty meters tall.''

''But there must be more Colossal Titans.'' Eren exclaimed. ''If there aren't then how will I build the new walls?''

''I don't know. The King probably has a grand plan that is 'too great' for us mere mortals.'' Reiner gested. ''Look, when the time comes he'll tell you what needs to happen and how.''

''The King just told me to practise my shifting until the preparations are done.'' Eren explained. ''That's why I'm up at this hour, I was heading to the outside to get stronger before I build the Walls.''

''In that case it might be helpful for you to know you're going in the completely wrong direction.'' Immediately Eren stopped and turned on his heels. ''Come on, follow me.'' Reiner gestured him to follow as he walked away from the river. Eren contemplated just continuing on his path but Reiner knew the village far better than Eren so he decided to follow him.

They walked in silence mainly due to the fact that Eren found it quite strange that he would willingly spend time with Reiner. It didn't take too long for Reiner too lead Eren to his so called 'secret exit'. ''What is this place?'' Eren asked as the approached the sheer coal black wall of the caldera.

''When I was little me, Bertolt and Marcel would sneak out through here so we could reach the top of the caldera at sunrise and sunset.'' Reiner explained. ''If I remember correctly it should be right here.'' With that Reiner reached out and began brushing his hands over the rough rocky wall in front of him, after a few moments Reiner's fingers caught on something and with a heave he pulled a large rock from in front of him. Behind it was what appeared to be a tunnel that went straight through the rock face. ''I can't believe this thing is still here.'' He mumbled to himself.

''So where exactly does this lead?'' Eren asked.

''It goes up to the rim. From there we can head down to the outskirts, at this time there should be no Ferals around so it's the perfect place to practise.'' Reiner said as he climbed into the opening.

''If you say so.'' With that Eren too disappeared into the tunnel making sure to recover the entrance.

* * *

''How the hell do you see in here?'' Eren shouted angrily as he banged his head against a protruding rock.

''You don't. If it were easy loads of people would come here. You just have to feel your way through.'' Reiner chuckled. Despite the fact it had been over five years since he last took this route Reiner still had a mental map of where the nastiest rocks and deepest crevices were, Eren on the other hand filled the tunnels with echos of his curses towards Reiner and the rocks that he stumbled into.

It took over ten minutes for Eren to trip and stumble his way through the passage, even with his regenerative abilities he was still covered in steaming cuts and bruises. Now that they were outside Eren could just about make out his surroundings. True to his word Reiner had lead him to the rim of his home, from here they could easily make their way down the rock face. ''How come the Feral Titans don't climb up here?'' Eren asked as he stretched his arms above his head.

''They do. Hence the near constant construction work in town, they maybe dumb but give them long enough and they could climb this in no time. The King spends almost all of his time patrolling up here for any herds that get too close...of course that doesn't stop some from getting in.'' Eren looked back to the village, living here was a constant fight, a fight that birthed warriors. ''Anyway, from here we can quickly get down.'' Reiner began climbing down the mountain side. ''This side isn't as steep as the others so it's not too bad.'' Eren nodded and followed Reiner's lead.

Climbing down the side of the mountains proved to be more of a trying task than Eren anticipated. Every now and again Eren would dig his foot into what he thought was a stable ledge only to find it made of a brittle rock that quickly gave way and despite Reiner lecturing him on what rocks were safe Eren always seemed to land on the weakest ledges.

Yet despite Eren's apparent lack of finesse he managed to make it down without injuring himself. ''Well that was horrible.'' Eren sighed as he lay on the ground, his chest heaving. ''So now what?''

''We practise your shifting. You can fight for sure,'' Reiner shuddered as he thought back to the brutal fight he and Eren had in the shadow of Wall Maria. ''But there is more to Titan shifting than fighting.''

''Oh like what?'' Eren was actually quite interested to learn more.

''Well some shifters can control their Titans outside of the nape and others are practically immortal.'' Reiner was proud to be one such shifter.

''What!? How is that possible?'' Eren was shocked that his powers could grant him such abilities.

''With a lot of practise. But I want you to know that you may not be able to get it all and some of these techniques could kill you.'' Reiner explained solemnly.

Eren chuckled dryly. ''Well for the time being I'm dead anyway.''

''Good point. Okay then, I'll shift first and explain what to do.'' Reiner said as he put several meters between him and Eren. He took a moment to look back at Eren and was worried by what he saw. Eren's face was contorted with a bitter expression. _Of course...He is going to struggle to see my Titan. _''Hey Eren. You can do this right?'' A quick and firm nod from Eren was all Reiner needed, despite his balled fists.

* * *

Seconds later the darkness and silence of night was shattered by a brilliant bolt of yellow lightning that shot high into the cloudy sky. The ground beneath Eren's feet shook as the Armoured Titan manifested itself around Reiner's body. Only a split second later a veritable wall of steam engulfed the surrounding area dissipating just before Eren's feet. Reiner was right, Eren was struggling to deal with the emerging Titan, just like when he awoke from being captured in the forest and when he arrived at Wall Maria. Eren was fighting to keep his anger and rage from boiling over. By the time the steam had cleared and Reiner's transformation was complete Eren's fists were so tightly balled that any further increase in pressure would break the skin of his palms.

Now that the Armoured Titan had taken hold of it's pilot silence reclaimed the night. There was no great roar from the beast just unbroken silence. That was until a loud hissing sound filled the air and Eren's ears, the hissing was quickly replaced by a strange splintering noise that came from the back of the Armoured Titan's neck. Upon hearing Reiner exit his Titan's neck Eren ran to the kneeling figure and called up to him.

''Reiner! Are you okay?''

The response came in the form of the Titan's giant head turning to face him. ''Yeah, just fine!'' It felt inherently wrong to hear a Titan talk, it still felt odd to talk to the King but it just felt wrong to have the voice of a former friend coming from the Armoured Titan.

''How are you doing that?'' Eren asked.

''When you shift you just have to loosen the connections between you and the Titan. You don't have perfect control over it as a result but hey, at least you can see my beautiful face.'' Even in the dark Eren could see Reiner's head and torso sticking out from his Titan's neck. To demonstrate his control Reiner physically heaved against the thews of flesh and like he said the body of his Titan stood. ''Just separate a few of the tightest connections then you can pop out.'' Reiner shouted.

Eren nodded and brought his hand to his mouth. _Focus. You're not going to attack the Armo-Reiner. _With that Eren clamped his teeth down onto the flesh of his right hand.

* * *

For the second time within a few minutes the delicate quiet of the night was shattered as another bolt of striking yellow rose up into the sky as Eren's body was enveloped with layers of flesh, blood, bone and skin. Since discovering his abilities Eren had shifted numerous times but that didn't take away from the electrifying sensation that sparked through each of his cells as he opened his eyes from inside the soft, hot cocoon that was his Titan.

When Eren finally willed his eyes to open the first thing he saw was Reiner's concerned expression as the upper half of his body hung from the neck of the Armoured Titan. It took an incredible amount of concentration for Eren to not attack him on sight, after a couple of minutes of deep focusing Eren felt confident that he could be within Reiner's vancity without lunging for him. Now all he had to do was master the technique he had been shown minutes earlier.

Eren started by moving his human head around in small circles, doing so cut some of the weaker connections and with each wet snapping sound Eren found he could move slightly easier. For each thew of flesh that separated from his body he found that his control of his Titan weakened, just as Reiner described. Eren kept this motion up for what felt like an eternity, shifting was an exhausting process on a good day, trying to break those webs of muscle was draining beyond belief. However thanks to his legendary determination Eren finally managed to break through the final layer of skin that separated him from the outside world.

The rush of cold air that met him washed over Eren like a wave of pleasure. One of the problems facing all shifters was the intense heat that built up within their chamber inside the neck of their Titan. Now outside of his beast Eren took several deep breaths of cool and refreshing air.

''Good job! Most people don't get it on their first go.'' Reiner called out from his own Titan.

''Yeah top job!'' Immediately both Eren and Reiner willed their giant frames to turn and face the source of the foreign voice. ''Oh don't mind me. Just go back to what you were doing.''

''Ymir?'' Eren shouted. ''What are you doing here?''

''Me and Historia couldn't sleep, we went for a walk when we saw you and Reiner sulking through the town so we followed you.'' Ymir explained. ''So what are you two doing out here at this ungodly hour?''

''As you can see we're training, so if you don't mind.'' It was obvious what Reiner was implying due to the sharp edge of his voice.

''We just want to watch.'' Historia said. Reiner turned to face Eren who looked down at the couple and shrugged his shoulders.

''Fine, fine. Just let us focus.'' He huffed and just as instructed Ymir and Historia sat against the steep face of the caldera and watched silently. Eren turned his attention back to maneuvering his Titan from outside the shell of the neck. He started to copy Reiner's basic actions. Eren started by walking around and even jogging, it felt strange, usually Eren would be looking through the great eyes of his Titan but now he was looking through his own eyes fifteen meters above the ground.

After mastering the art of walking Eren went on to use his arms, by tugging at the meaty strings Eren found that with relative ease he could just as easily move his Titan arms just as his human limbs. While to those that were observing may find the sight of Eren controlling his Titan with just his arms might have been impressive to some but to Ymir it was almost painful.

Eren tried to lift one leg off the ground and to Ymir that was the final nail in the coffin. She stood up and threw her arms in the air. ''I can't watch this anymore!'' Her sudden outburst caused Eren to lose balance and a moment later he was sitting in a cloud of dust with a very angry expression on his face.

''What's wrong? I thought I told you to keep it quiet.'' Reiner shouted.

''I'm sorry but are you seeing this miserable, hulking beast?'' Ymir stuck a finger out and pointed at Eren.

Reiner looked at Eren and then back to Ymir. ''He's doing a good job.''

Ymir let out a short barking laugh laced with sarcasm. ''If he's doing a good job then you are doing awfully.''

Reiner took a giant step towards Ymir but she didn't even flinch. ''Wait.'' Eren's voice caught everyone's attention. ''What am I doing wrong?''

Ymir looked back to Historia and shrugged. ''You don't need to waste energy tugging your arms about.'' Eren gave her a skeptical look before loosely shrugging his shoulders. ''Most of the control comes from up here.'' Ymir said tapping her temple. ''Just try it out. Will your arms to move and make small movements.''

Both Eren and Reiner looked at each other and Historia, her eyes were locked on her close 'friend'. ''How do you know all this?'' She whispered into Ymir ear as Eren tried out her techniques.

''I've...been a shifter for a while. After a while you pick a few things up.'' It was common knowledge that Ymir refused to talk about her past but that didn't stop Historia from trying.

''And how long is that?'' It was an obvious jab at Ymir's past but Historia hoped that the current situation could help her expedition into her partner's past.

''Too damn long.'' Ymir sighed before turning her attention back to Eren who was finally getting the hang of controlling his Titan. As he followed Ymir's orders to perform increasingly complex tasks Reiner made his way over to the couple.

''Where the heck did you learn all this? The first time I tried this I almost tore my arm off trying to get my Titan to move.'' Reiner explained from his perch.

''Like I said, I've been a shifter for a long time.'' Ymir shoved her hands in her pockets and sighed.

''I'm not talking about from when you at… killed Marcel. You were something before that weren't you?'' Reiner ordered his frame to kneel down so that he was only a few meters from Ymir.

''There's not much to tell.'' With a simple shrug of her shoulders Ymir had dismissed Reiner's questions but not Historia's.

''Ymir. How long were you a Titan before you...became a shifter.'' Historia was really the only one who could get any information out of the stoic young woman.

''You really want to know?'' Ymir asked with a raised eyebrow.

''Why else would we ask.''

After taking a deep breath Ymir gave her answer. ''Sixty years. Before I killed Marcel I was a Feral Titan for sixty years.'' Both Reiner and Historia were shocked beyond belief.

''But you look no older than seventeen.''

Ymir sneered at Reiner. ''Thanks for the compliment.''

''What about before then?'' Historia wasted no time in asking more questions.

''Remember when I told you that I used to be in the same position as you?'' Historia nodded. ''I was born into a warrior family.'' If Reiner hadn't have been so focused on staying upright he would have fallen.

''What happened to you?'' Eren had walked his Titan over to the group.

Ymir sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. ''I was kicked out by the King.'' Reiner's face hardened while Historia and eren gawked at Ymir.

''What did you do?'' Eren asked.

Ymir threw her arms in the air. ''I didn't want to have kids alright!'' She shouted. ''I didn't want to have kids, watch them grow up and then kill me. Is that such a bad thing?''

''You were exiled for not wanting to have children?'' Reiner's eyes were wide with shock. Ymir nodded. ''You were kicked out and made a Titan for sixty years?'' Once again Ymir nodded.

''The King did that to you?'' Eren still wasn't sure what to think of the King, after he had offered to save Eren's life his opinion of the Titan had understandably improved. Now however if Ymir was telling the truth then Eren would look at the beast in a new light.

''Yeah, why do you think he didn't even look at me when we arrived.'' She shrugged. ''I don't really remember any more but I think I used to be a part of an important.''

''That's what you meant when you told me you were in my position.'' Ymir nodded.

''I was apparently supposed to be the heir to a really important family and when I was exiled my family was shamed.'' Historia's eyes was welling with tears. ''So I've had plenty of practise when it comes to Titan shifting.''

''I had no idea…'' Reiner sighed.

''He doesn't want to welcome back a disgraced exile that won't have kids.''

The group fell silent as each one of them came to terms with the sickening nature of Ymir's story. Reiner already had a distasteful view of the King, in his opinion it was the fault of the King that his father hated him.

Like Eren, Historia was becoming extremely distrustful of the Titan, to her it seemed that while he had his people's protection at heart there was something else beneath his coal black eyes.

''I don't understand the King seemed perfectly fine when I talked to him.'' Eren hummed to which Ymir snorted.

''Eren think about it. The King has been alive longer than any human being.'' Ymir could tell that Eren wasn't understanding her. ''That means he has had at least a hundred years to manipulate and control people.'' As Ymir's words sunk in Eren's eyes widened. ''Whatever he had promised you I'd bet you he's lying or at least manipulating you.''

This got Eren thinking back to his conversation with the enigmatic beast. ''He promised that he could save my life and…''

''And what?'' At the prospect of learning the King's true intentions Ymir couldn't help but let her curiosity get the better of her.

Eren looked to Reiner who slowly nodded. ''The King wants to use the Coordinate to build walls around the village.'' He sighed.

Even Ymir with her legendary composure could hide the utter shock on her face. ''How is that possible?''

Eren's eyes remained locked on the ground. 'I don't know, he didn't explain. He just said that if I build the walls he can separate me from the Coordinate.'' Eren sighed a heavy sigh. ''After he left I figured that meant the our walls were made of Titans.''

''I don't believe it…'' Historia gasped. ''That doesn't even make sense.''

Ymir smirked a devilish smirk. ''Yeah it does.'' Ymir put a hand on Historia's shoulder. ''The royal family, the original king or queen used the Coordinate to build the walls over a hundred years ago.''

''And then wiped everyone's memories.'' Eren finished her sentence.

''There's one thing that doesn't make sense though.'' Everyone's eyes were fixed on Historia. ''Where will the King get the Titans to make the walls from?'' It was a question that had been plaguing all their minds but one that no one knew the answer to.

No one spoke.

* * *

''Woah Berty.'' Clementine sat back in her chair, she reached out and put a hand on Bertolt's trembling shoulder. Since reuniting with his older sister at the market stands he and Clementine had walked back to their home. As they walked Bertolt had told his story of the Walls, it had taken so long to recount every last gory detail that only once they got home had Bertolt finished. ''I had no idea.''

Bertolt chuckled. ''Neither did we, one of the hardest parts was listening as Eren told us what happened to his mum.''

''And now he's here.''

He nodded. ''He tried to kill us, even Annie.''

In an attempt to lighten Bertolt's somber mood Clementine jabbed Bertolt's shoulder. ''No one gets to kill you except me when you don't help out with the chores.'' Bertolt rubbed his shoulder and smirked. It was at that moment that the front door opened and through it walked Bertolt's father and younger brother.

Upon seeing his oldest son sitting at his table Julianus Hoover dropped his lumber axe and rushed over to his second born child. ''Bertolt… is it really you?''

Bertolt stood to his full height and slowly made his way over to his father. ''It's me dad.'' He rushed forward and wrapped his father and younger brother is his arms.

''Welcome home Lanky.'' Sighed Emmerich Hoover as he tightened his hold around his brother. No one but Bertolt at the time knew but this was likely one of the last times he saw his family.

* * *

As the night went on soon Reiner, Eren, Ymir and Historia made their way back up the side of the mountains and back to the Leonhardt home. When they arrived Eren noticed that Annie still wasn't back yet.

While they thought that no one had seem them during their night time expedition nothing happened in the Beast King's village without him knowing. He had been watching from the moment Eren had snuck out of Torin's house.

''I can't believe she found her way home.'' The Beast sighed from inside his fleshy cocoon. ''Never thought I'd see her again.'' Knowing that he couldn't let his thoughts wander during such a crucial time the Beast Titan shook his head and scratched behind his ears. He stood to his and dizzying height before staring off in the direction of the Walls. ''Only a few more days. Then you and all your people Reiss will know absolute fear.''


	34. Final Days

**A/N: Right...well it's been a while. I want to say sorry for the really long wait for the new chapter. I've been dealing with some major health problems and I haven't had the energy to write. But after a long time I have finally finished it! This is a long and important chapter (To the story). I want to also give a special thank you to Rubi02099, apasih and 2Volt. Your kind reviews really helped me through my illness (I'm still ill but you have certainly helped.) It is going to be a while until the next chapter comes out but I will do my best!**

**Right. Without further procrastination please read on and enjoy! **

* * *

''When did you get back?'' Bertolt's father asked after releasing his son from his crushing hug.

Bertolt sat back in his chair and faced his family. ''Only a few hours ago.''

''You must tell us all about the people of the Walls.'' Julianus leaned forward as he waited for Bertolt to regale the events of the past five years.

Bertolt looked to Clementine who could read the reluctance in his tired eyes. ''Um. Dad, Bertolt told me about it all when he ran into me at the market stalls.'' A flicker of annoyance flashed across Julianus' face, he wanted to be there when Bertolt told his story. ''It's not a story I think you want to hear.''

Julianus followed his daughter's pleading gaze towards his youngest child and immediately understood what she was trying to communicate. He turned to face Emmerich and with an authoritative tone he spoke. ''Emmerich, it's time for you to go to bed. Go on.''

Emmerich frowned. ''But I want to hear Bertolt's story.''

Julianus stood to his full height. ''This isn't a story you need to hear. Now go to bed!'' Emmerich looked to his siblings for some support but he found only a small smile. ''Fine.'' He moaned before lifting himself from his chair and making his way over to a door on the far side of the room. Before he disappeared inside he turned and looked at his brother. ''You'll still be here in the morning right?'' Bertolt suddenly felt a great tightness in his chest, this was the first time he had seen his younger brother in five years and in a matter of days he would never see him again.

Bertolt nodded. ''I will.'' The lie felt dirty on his tongue as Emmerich smiled and went into his room. Once he was sure he was out of earshot Bertolt turned to his father. ''How is he doing?''

''After you left he was distraught. He looked up to you and when you went away he became withdrawn.'' It was obvious in the tone with which Julianus spoke that the past five years had been a draining challenge on all the members of the Hoover family.

Seeing that her father was struggling with the weight of the unpleasant memories Clementine took over. ''He became very weak, even weaker than usual. At one point some people that we would lose him and his chest became a lot worse.'' When Bertolt left for the Walls he had been terrified for the health of his younger brother, both he and Clem had been happy beyond words when they first met their newest sibling. However, it quickly became clear that there was something wrong. When he was born Emmerich didn't cry or scream like a normal baby, he was silent. They all feared that he wouldn't make it but somehow despite all odds he survived but as he grew up Emmerich was weak and frail.

''I was worried that he would get worse once I left.'' Bertolt sighed, not a day went by where Bertolt didn't think back to his family and when he would get to see them again.

''Oh he did,'' Clem scoffed. ''But after a while, Emmerich came to the conclusion that if his older sister was old enough to provide an income and if his brother was old enough to save us all then he should be able to contribute somehow.'' Bertolt took notice of the look of pride on his father's face as Clementine described his brother's change.''Like I said it wasn't long before Em started helping out on one of the wheat plantations.''

''That's amazing…'' Like his father Bertolt too felt his heart swell with both pride and sorrow that his younger brother was old enough and strong enough to provide for his people. ''And dad I heard you started working in a lumber mill.'' Bertolt said turning his attention to the head of the Hoover family.

A wide smile spanned across his lips. ''Indeed I have, I think it's about time I get out there and start working.'' He chuckled as he ran his fingers through his mouse brown hair. ''The pay is pretty good and it's good to get out of the house.'' A moment later the smile on Julianus' face disappeared. ''Son, you need to tell me what happened.'' It didn't take long for Julianus to realise that Bertolt was trying to avoid regaling his tail.

The colour in Bertolt's face drained, his father was a clever man and wouldn't be easily fooled. ''Dad, it's not a...good story.'' Clem protested.

''I know that. But I deserve to know what happened to my eldest son when I sent him away when he was ten years old.'' The embarrassed, smiling man from moments ago was gone, replaced by a father who had lost one of his children for five years.

Clementine went to warn him about the details of Bertolt's journey when he stopped her. ''It's alright. Dad has a right to know what happened.'' Julianus sat back and took a deep breath in. ''There is no easy way to put this. We…we killed thousands of people.'' Each word felt like it weighed a tonne as he spoke, Bertolt had hoped that talking to someone over what had happened could help him but he was wrong. With each word the memories came flooding back, the looks of horror on the people's faces as he stared down at them from sixty meters up. ''We destroyed two of their walls...I destroyed two of their walls.''

''All of you did.'' Julianus corrected.

''No. I did.'' Bertolt snapped. ''Annie never touched the walls, Reiner only rammed their inner gate. It was me who destroyed the walls. My Titan became the symbol of terror and hatred throughout the walls.'' Bertolt's mind flashed back to one of the first nights of his training alongside the 104th, his mind brought back the memory of Eren's burning eyes when he talked about how he _needed _to kill every last Titan. ''Yes Reiner and Annie were involved but it was my face they saw when I tore their families and lives apart.''

Clementine's eyes fell to the floor but Julianus' didn't falter. ''Son…we had to do this.''

''Destroying the walls wasn't the worst bit...it was watching what happened afterwards.'' There were now tears in Bertolt's gentle grey eyes.

Julianus wasn't sure what Bertolt meant and only now was he starting to understand why his son was reluctant to talk. ''What...what do you mean?''

Bertolt opened his mouth to explain but all that came out was a raspy cry, he turned to Clementine who could immediately read his eyes. ''Okay.'' She said resting a hand on his shoulder. ''After the first wall, Wall...Maria right?'' Bertolt nodded. ''Those that survived evacuated and fell back to the second wall, Rose. However there wasn't enough food for all the refugees.'' Bertolt's shut his eyes and clenched his fists. ''Thousands starved, so to alleviate the hunger… the government sent two-hundred and fifty-thousand people out armed with farming tools to retake Wall Maria.''

In an instant Julianus' green eyes widened with shock. ''What? That's suicide!''

''Yeah it was.'' Bertolt spat. ''Barely a hundred came back. The rest were killed.''

''That just shows how evil those people are.'' Julianus' belief in the warnings the King had given him was now stronger than ever.

''Thing is not all of them were evil. I met people who were kind, caring and even my friends.'' A weak smile curled at his lips as thought back to the genuine memories of the days he spent with his friends despite the fact his friendship was a lie.

''Well you're home now.'' Bertolt's father's voice was quiet and weak as he comforted his son. ''Tell me about the people you brought with you, when I was coming home I heard that you brought some people from the walls with you.''

Bertolt wiped his eyes. ''We took three people, Eren, Historia, and Ymir.''

''Who are they?''

''They were my friends during military training. Eren was...well he's a shifter so we thought it was right if we brought him here. Historia is a... Reiss.'' Bertolt sighed. Lying to his family was one of the hardest things Bertolt had ever done in his life but the King had stressed the importance that _nobody _know about the true nature of the mission.

''A Reiss!'' Julianus shouted.

''I told you he would do that.'' Clem chuckled in an attempt to lighten Bertolt's mood.

Bertolt smiled weakly. ''We brought her as insurance, as long as we have the heir to the Reiss' they won't come after us.''

''That's clever Berty'' Clem said with pride.

''And what about the other one?''

''Ymir.'' Bertolt was dreading telling his father about Ymir's secret but there was no way he could hide this. ''She...killed Marcel, we thought it was right to bring her back here.''

''What!? Why didn't you kill her there and then?'' Julianus' shoulders were visibly shaking with anger.

''She was a Feral Titan when it happened. It wasn't her fault.'' Bertolt explained.

''But...she, she killed him.''

''And I killed mum. Ymir was in near enough the same situation as me.'' Both Bertolt and his father thought it was odd that he was defending someone who killed one of their own. ''You don't blame me for what happened to mum.''

''But son, you're different. I don't know who she is or what she's like. All I know is that she killed a young boy.'' Julinaus pleaded he was desperate for his son to realise that Ymir should be despised for her crime but Bertolt was steadfast in his belief.

''Dad.'' Bertolt started. ''I've been thinking this for a while but if I and the others hadn't been sent to attack the Walls then Ymir would have remained a mindless Titan forever.'' Of course, Bertolt was right, the chances that Ymir would have come across a random shifter in the middle of nowhere were impossibly small. ''Marcel's sacrifice saved her life.''

''How can you say something like that about your friend?'' Clem's head was darting back and forth between her brother and father as they exchanged arguments.

''Because Ymir… is my friend as well. If she had been someone I didn't know or care for then I would agree with you but because I have known her for years and because I understand the fear of being lost inside a Titan I can say that her life was saved.'' Bertolt hadn't even realised that he had stood to his full height.

''So why bring her here where she would be hated?''

Bertolt went silent. When asked in the past he answered by saying that it was the right thing to do, to bring a killer to justice and while that might had been enough to convince some it certainly wasn't enough to convince Julianus Hoover. He would have to tell his father the truth however, Bertolt wasn't entirely sure why he had brought Ymir to a place where the vast majority of people would happily line up to kill her.

In a voice that could only be described as a whisper, Bertolt gave a pathetic excuse. ''It just felt like the right thing to do.''

''Don't give me that. There was a reason you brought her. What was it?'' Now Julianus had stood and was standing in front of his son, both he and Bertolt were incredibly tall but Bertolt was an inch or two taller.

''Dad, take it easy,'' Clem said wrapping her hand around her father's wrist. ''Bertolt's just come home. We should be celebrating not interrogating him.'' Eventually, Bertolt's gaze fell from his father to the floor.

''I'm going to… step out for a bit.'' As Bertolt made his way to the door Clem went to stop him when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

''Let him go.'' Julianus sighed, once Bertolt had left and Clem had scolded him for making him go he sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples. ''Who ever thought I'd end up getting lectured by our daughter?'' Julianus said to the air but there was no reply. ''What am I going to do Sita?'' Yet again the air stayed silent.

* * *

Bertolt walked with his balled fists stuffed in his pockets, he had walked in silence since leaving his home. After leaving he had followed one of his favourite paths that he, Reiner, Annie and Marcel would walk as children. It followed the river down the to the bottom of town where they would follow a small tributary into one of the long grass fields where they would play hide and seek.

While he didn't know the time for sure Bertolt was certain it was past midnight, the town and market place were deserted with not a sign of anyone else to be seen. As he walked through the empty streets Bertolt thought to his reunion with his family, it had neither been what he wanted or expected. Hearing that his father and even his brother were now working was a surprise that brought him great happiness and pride but the encounter had brought more that smiles and warmth.

His father's relentless questions paired with the demand to explain what he and the others had done was enough to pile more weight onto Bertolt's already weary shoulders. By now he had made it through town and was beginning to follow the stream that would take him to a place where he could hopefully rest alone with his thoughts. Deciding that lingering on these thoughts would only bring his mood down even further Bertolt imagined what Annie and Reiner would be up to at this point.

Annie would probably be out with her father practising their fighting together, that or she'd be asleep. Reiner on the other hand, he would most certainly be awake and likely be walking about. Bertolt contemplated trying to find but he didn't want to disturb him at a point where he would be dealing with his own problems.

By now Bertolt had reached the outskirts of the tall grass fields and it was just how he remembered it all those years ago. The field spanned for at least two kilometers, it was dotted with oak trees that made for the best climbing and hiding, there was just one thing. The grass was a lot shorter than Bertolt remembered.

''Of course.'' Bertolt chuckled quietly. ''It's been a long time.'' Whereas the grass used to just reach his shoulders it now only met the bottom of his torso. With that he entered the long grass and despite the fact that it had been more than five years since he last entered these grasses he knew exactly where he was going.

Being back here brought some of Bertolt's happiest memories to the front of his mind, oh the days he and the others would spend lost in the pastures that spanned for as far as one could see. They would take it in turns being the counter while the others hid among the brush. Being so tall and cumbersome meant that Bertolt would almost always be one of the first to be found but that didn't take away from the fun, not one bit.

A weak smile spanned Bertolt's lips as he realised that it didn't matter that he, Reiner and Annie had made it home. They were different people now, they were not the children who had spent countless days playing without a care in the world. They were victorious warriors who had made it home.

So why wasn't he happy.

He had done his duty and had fulfilled his mission, surely he should have felt pride or relief but all he felt was an emptiness. Bertolt knew that he only had a few days left with his family, he had known that upon his return his time would be limited but he had known that for years, this feeling was something else.

Bertolt had been lost in his thoughts so much that he hadn't realised that he had arrived at his destination. A large healthy oak tree that stood at the center of the grassy meadow was now only a couple of feet in front of him. It reached several meters into the sky and its thick canopy would offer the perfect protection from even the harshest summer sun as it had done so many times in the past. This was the place where he, Reiner, Marcel and Annie would meet on days when they didn't have training. He was about to sit down and rest his head against the bark of the trunk when a faint rustling sound emanated from his right side.

Bertolt turned so his entire body was facing the source of the sound, ready to fight if he needed to. ''Who's there?'' He called out.

For a moment the air went still, no breeze, no rustling in the grass not a sound to be heard. A second later there was a sighing sound followed by the sound of dry grass being crushed under foot. _Well, well. Look who it is. _A silent snake hissed. ''Did my father send you?'' Annie's voice was immediately followed by the girl walking out of the brush.

Bertolt sighed and lowered his fists. ''No. Why would he?''

''If he didn't send you then it doesn't matter.'' Annie was thankful that the night was dark enough to hide the redness of her eyes. ''Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home with your family?''

Before answering Bertolt made his way over to the tree and sat down. ''I don't know, my dad was asking all these questions about what happened and why we brought Ymir back with us, I couldn't answer them so I just walked out'' He said scratching the back of his head.

''So you came back here.'' Annie laughed dryly.

''Well so did you.'' Bertolt jested.

For a brief moment there was silence, Annie made her way over to the tree and sat down on the opposite side to Bertolt. ''Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?''

''I doubt there's any chance that'd you tell me,'' Bertolt said. ''What happens between you and Torin is your own business.''

Annie stifled a quiet laugh. ''Was it worth it? Doing what we did.''

''... I don't know.'' Bertolt sighed. ''We're not safe just yet, we have the Coordinate but it's stuck inside Eren.'' If Bertolt had been next to Annie he would have seen her wince at the mention of his name.

''He'll be dead in days then.''

Bertolt turned his head. ''No he won't, the King has a plan.'' Bertolt wasn't sure if he should tell Annie this but she deserved to know she fought and killed for.

''What?''

''The King can save Eren, he can separate the Coordinate from Eren and save him.'' Bertolt explained from the other side of the old tree.

''It's not that simple, even I know that. Just tell me.'' The ice in Annie's voice was so familiar it made Bertolt chuckle.

''The King has a way to keep us safe, all of us, our families, our homes.''

''Bertolt what are you talking about?'' In her state Annie couldn't hide the slight worry in her voice.

He had already told Annie more than he should have, the Beast King had entrusted Bertolt with this information, not Annie, not Reiner. However that didn't matter now, he knew that they deserved to know. ''The King is going to get Eren to use the Coordinate to… to build walls around our home, then he will separate the Coordinate from Eren!''

''That's crazy!'' Annie shouted. ''We killed all those people for a plan that doesn't make sense?''

''Annie.'' Bertolt stood and made his way around to face Annie. ''You have to understand, this is what needs to be done.'' He pleaded.

''Wait.'' Annie hissed. ''How do you know all this?''

Bertolt's eyes fell to the floor. ''The King told me… before we left.'' Bertolt had hoped that Annie wouldn't ask this particular question.

''And you didn't tell me. Or Reiner.'' The venom in Annie's voice was nothing like Bertolt had ever heard. ''Why?''

''I was ordered… by the King.'' It sounded as if Bertolt was ashamed to come clean.

''What about you is so important that you were given these _special _orders?'' Annie veritably spat the word special.

''Because I'm going to become part of the walls!'' Bertolt snapped. ''He told me so I could prepare myself for when I spend forever inside my Titan, never seeing my family or you ever again!'' Now he was shouting with all his might. ''Because, Annie I will sacrifice everything to keep you, Reiner and everyone safe.'' Annie had never seen Bertolt like this, he was stood to his full height but he seemed taller.

''When?''

Bertolt took a deep breath in. ''A couple of days, maybe a week.'' Annie's immediate response was to grit her teeth, she rushed forward and drove her knee into Bertolt's abdomen, the boy buckled and fell to his knees. ''A-Annie?'' Bertolt coughed. But instead of getting an answer he saw a blur as Annie's leg flew around in a wide arc. Her signature kick caught him on the jaw sending him sprawling to the ground.

''You're pathetic.'' Annie spat, she reached down and grabbed a handful of his dark brown hair and pulled his face up. ''What is wrong with you?''

Bertolt coddled his gut before answering. ''I told you, I'm willing to sacrifice everything for my people.''

''You're willing to give up a life with your family?''

''If they could live in safety then yes.'' Bertolt had regained his footing and was standing over Annie. ''Wouldn't you?''

''What if your family knew? Assuming you haven't told them either. Would they offer their son up just after getting him back?''

Bertolt balled his fists as anger boiled in his stomach. ''That doesn't matter if they would be safe!''

''Do you even understand this bullshit plan? Has our _all knowing _King told you how this crazy thing works?'' Annie was struggling to get her head around the idea of what Bertolt was explaining. _Annie, you're overlooking a big question. _Grief hissed but she paid no attention.

Bertolt was silent.

''Exactly! You're throwing your life away for something you don't !'' Bertolt wasn't the only one who noticed her mistake. Both Grief and Desire had caught onto her true train of thought. _Oh, Annie…_

Bertolt stared down at Annie with open disappointment in his eyes. A thick and uneasy silence fell on the two of them, Bertolt sat down back against the tree, not a word was passed between them. To him it seemed like Annie didn't care about his situation, it seemed like that she was just thinking about Eren.

Eventually Bertolt spoke in a low, quiet voice. ''What would you do in my situation? If you knew you could save everyone, your father, sister.''

''I would find a different way, or at least look for one.'' Annie replied.

''And what if you didn't have time to find one.''

Annie opened her mouth to reply when she realised that Bertolt was talking about his experiences, Bertolt had tried to find a new way, tried to find something else that would work, something that would let him live with his family in peace. But there was no alternative. ''I'd spend what time I had with my family.''

''Exactl-'' Bertolt started but Annie wasn't finished yet.

''So why aren't you?'' Once again Bertolt couldn't find an answer that would satisfy himself or Annie.

Bertolt looked at Annie with wide eyes, he chuckled quietly before answering ''Thank you, Annie.'' Bertolt said with a small smile. With that, he stood and walked back through the long grass back home leaving Annie with her thoughts. ''Hey, why don't you meet me outside my house at sunrise, then we can go find Reiner.'' Bertolt suggested. Annie gave him a nod and with that, he was off.

_Look at you offering up advice you'd never follow yourself. _Grief giggled. _On to more important matters. What will you do about Bertolt? _

''I don't know. Me and Reiner were only told to get the Coordinate, we didn't know what it was for.'' Annie said throwing her head back against the bark.

_You're still forgetting something Ann. _Grief sighed. _Maybe that's because she had Eren on her mind. _Desire smirked.

''What do you mean?'' Annie asked with a raised eyebrow. _Don't tell her. _Grief warned the other serpent. _Figure it out like you always do. _

''Big help.'' Annie hissed but as the snakes told her Annie thought through all she had learned from Bertolt. He was going to become part of the new walls ''Whatever that means.'' Bertolt would be locked in his Titan and made into the walls. That means the King needs more Colossal Titans. ''Where will he get those Titans?''

_Unless the King has a warehouse filled with Colossal Titans there is only one place I-you can think of where he can get them. _Grief spoke each word with a chilling degree of malice.

''That's not possible.'' Annie gawked. ''There's no way.''

_You've seen what the Coordinate can do, if and when Eren is ready the King will have him unknowingly tear down the Walls around his home and move them here. _Grief and Annie said at the same time with an equal amount of worry.

*Six hours later*

Annie had spent the rest of the night trying to come up with a way of explaining her theory to everyone, especially Eren. She had stayed in the long grasses trying to comprehend what Grief explained to her. The idea was one that should have been impossible but after thinking back to what happened during the battle with the Feral Herd the thought of the Walls suddenly waking up and walking seemed all too possible.

_Annie wait. IF you are right and you tell Eren there is no way he'll do it. _Grief explained.

''So?''

_So, you idiot, there will be nothing to defend against the Feral attacks. If Eren refuses then he'll put everyone here at risk. _Annie knew the snake was right. If Eren even listened to her and then believed her there was no way he would even entertain the thought of killing everyone in the Walls.

''He has to know.'' Annie hissed as she ran through the long grasses just as rays of light yellows and warm oranges started reaching through the sky.

_Do you think he would listen to you? _Desire warned.

''He might if he knew that his home was at risk.'' With that final remark, the snakes fell silent and Annie focused all her energy on running as fast her legs could carry her. It didn't take long for Annie to make her way out of the field and into town.

As she made her way through the streets she noticed the lumber workers and farmer leaving their homes for their workplaces. Annie didn't want to get caught up talking to any of them if they noticed her so she took the backstreets, places she knew would be empty at this time.

Weaving between the streets Annie's mind began to wander back to Desire's warning. ''Would he listen to me?'' Annie said to herself as she turned a corner and ran straight into Reiner's chest.

''Watch where you're going.'' Reiner chuckled reaching down to offer Annie a hand.

Annie's reply came when she batted away Reiner's gesture and stood up. ''Do you know where Eren is?''

Reiner sighed. ''Good morning to you too.'' Annie glared at him. ''Not since last night. Why? Did you two fall out?''

''Don't even start,'' Annie said rubbing her temples. ''Has Bertolt talked to you about it yet?''

''No, wait, what are you talking about?'' Reiner asked quizzically.

_Oh dear. Now look what you've done. _Grief cooed.

''Doesn't matter.'' Immediately Annie wanted to be anywhere other than where she currently was. Annie tried to walk right past him when he stuck out one of his giant arms.

''You don't expect me to let you go after asking something like that.'' He laughed.

''You need to hear it from Bertolt, not me.'' Annie warned.

Reiner squinted. ''If it's so important then you can come with me to find him.''

''Can't, I have to talk to Eren about something.''

Reiner sighed and scratched the back of his head. ''Are we so unimportant to you now that you have Eren? Look I just want to know what's going on and if you're not going to tell me then at least have the decency to come with me.''

_Eren's not going to die in the next couple of hours. _Desire said to which Grief added. _It'll buy you some time to figure out what you're going to tell him. _

''Fine. He'll be at his place.'' Annie deadpanned, Reiner smirked and the both of them set off towards the Hoover house.

* * *

The walk to Bertolt's house was silent, Annie had expected Reiner to beg her to explain just a fragment of whatever it was that Bertolt had told her yet he stayed silent. _Maybe he learned that you really are a tight-lipped bi-._

''Shut up.'' Annie hissed quietly, she didn't particularly care if Reiner heard her, it would just be easier for her if she didn't have to explain Grief and Desire to him.

As the approached his home the noticed Clementine just leaving for her job on the market stalls. ''Hey Celm!'' Reiner shouted as he jogged over to her.

Hearing her name she turned to face him with a wide smile. ''Well if it isn't the big, blonde ox! What can I do for you?'' She beamed.

''Do you know where Bertolt is? I need to talk to him about something.''

''Oh,'' Her smile faltered slightly. ''He went out last night after dad… pried into your mission and it got to him.''

Reiner balled his fists, they all knew that would probably have to answer some very uncomfortable questions when they got home. ''Where did he go?''

''I don't know, but after a couple of hours he came home.'' She paused. ''He looked like he had been crying, he said he was sorry for leaving and went to sleep. He's just finished having breakfast with Em if you want me to get him.''

''Thanks.'' Reiner said.

Clem nodded and went back inside. Reiner leaned against a nearby tree and Annie followed. ''I wonder what or who changed Bertolt in those couple of hours he was out.'' Reiner chuckled.

''Don't bother beating around the bush. He came out to the field and I was already there.''

''What were you doing out there?'' Reiner asked.

_Yeah, Annie… What were you doing out there? _Greif hissed.

''I went for a walk. And yes that's all I'm saying.'' Not once did she look Reiner in the eye.

''Why don't you trust me, Annie?'' It was a question that came out of nowhere and one that shocked Annie. _It looks like the ox does have a heart, shriveled it maybe but a heart nonetheless. _Desire cooed. Instead of scolding the snake Annie this time looked at Reiner and saw nothing but exhaustion in his formerly stoic golden eyes. ''We went through all that together so I thought you'd maybe trust me, I mean me and Bertolt have known you for years.''

''Thing's changed after Marco,'' Annie said weakly. ''Everything changed after that.''

''You know we did what we had to, for our families.'' Reiner sighed.

''So why haven't you gone home yet?'' Annie had expected this to get Reiner riled up maybe even angry but he didn't even blink.

''Doesn't mean I don't love them. You look like you haven't been home either so don't lecture me.'' Annie searched for some sign of emotion in his voice but there was nothing. At that moment Bertolt emerged from his home and immediately Reiner's face lit up. ''Morning lazy bones!''

''Sorry I got in late,'' Bertolt smiled. ''Why are you here?''

''Am I not allowed to see my best friend? Besides according to Annie you have something to tell me.'' As Reiner finished his sentence both Annie and Bertolt visibly tensed, Bertolt knew there was no getting out of this, eventually he would have to tell him.

''Yeah, come on, I'll tell you.'' Bertolt sighed rubbing the back of his head. The three of them walked through the town in silence, all the while Bertolt was trying to figure out a way to explain the situation to Reiner. In all honesty, he was surprised that Annie hadn't already told him.

By now they had walked through the center of town and were now strolling alongside the river bank. ''So. What's going on?'' Reiner asked.

''It's about why we got the Coordinate,'' Bertolt replied. Instantly Reiner froze thinking back to what he had learned the night before. ''What it is going to be used for.'' He added.

Reiner believed he already knew the answer so he had another question on his mind. ''Wait, how do you know this?'' Reiner's attention was so focused Bertolt that he didn't notice the shiver crawl up Annie's spine.

Bertolt looked down to Annie and sighed. ''I'm sorry Reiner…''

''What are you sorry about?'' Reiner asked coming to a stop.

''The King told me before we left, all those years ago.''

''And you didn't tell us?'' Reiner said balling his fists, he looked to Annie for some sign of support but when he looked into her eyes he felt his heart sink. ''You knew as well?''

''I only found out last night.'' Annie protested.

Reiner turned back to Bertolt. ''So what did the King tell you that was so important you couldn't tell us?''

Bertolt looked to both of his friends, he had lied to them, when asked about their mission he told them that he knew nothing. For years they believed him and for years the weight of his lies pulled at his heart. Now however Bertolt could come clean, all he had to do was accept the consequences of his actions. Besides he'd be worse than dead in a matter of days, what's the worse that could happen?

''The King will use the Coordinate to surround our home in Walls like those around the human's kingdom,'' Bertolt explained, as he talked Reiner put his hands on his hips and laughed. ''What's so funny?''

''I can't believe Eren was telling the truth.''

''What do you mean Eren was telling the truth?'' Annie asked.

Once again Reiner chuckled. ''Eren told me, Ymir and Historia last night. Said the King told him. There was just one thing we couldn't figure out.''

''And that was?'' Bertolt asked.

Annie decided to ask the all important question. ''Where would the King get all those colossal Titan's from?'' _Maybe the King's favourite warrior knows. Let's ask before we jump to our conclusion._

The confidence on Bertolt's face vanished. ''I never asked, I was only told what I needed to know.''

''And that didn't include where the King would get all the Titans he needed?'' Annie asked.

''No.'' Bertolt said shaking his head.

Reiner came up beside his friend and rested a hand on his shoulder. ''Hey, at least you told us after what? Five years?''

''There's something else…'' Bertolt said in a raspy voice. Reiner was so focused on Bertolt that he didn't see Annie tense up.

''What?''

''I'm so sorry Reiner.'' Bertolt didn't even try to hide the tears in his eyes. ''I'm going to become part of the walls.''

At any other time Reiner would have burst out laughing but the weakness of Bertolt's voice and the expression on Annie's face told him this was most certainly not a joke. ''What are you talking about?''

Bertolt wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. ''Since I'm the largest Titan I'm going to become the foundations of the walls. The other Titans will gather alongside me and harden to make the walls.''

''But that means…''

Bertolt nodded. ''I'll be trapped inside my Titan forever.''

''No! Why does the King _need _you? Why does he need your Titan if he already has others?'' Reiner shouted.

''Because that is what is needed!'' Bertolt balled his fists in anger. ''Because I'm willing to do what it takes to defend the people I love.''

Reiner rushed forward and grabbed his friend's collar. ''So you're just going to sacrifice yourself for a plan you don't even fully understand?''

_You asked him that question first. _Grief laughed.

Bertolt bated Reiner's hand away. ''What more can I do? We are dying Reiner!'' He shouted. ''People are dying. The King can't protect us on his own anymore. Look around, the King has shifters patrolling the entire caldera, what does that say about our situation?''

Reiner looked into Bertolt's eyes and saw a sense of determination that he hadn't seen in the boy in a long time. ''What about your brother? Sister? Your dad? Us?'' Reiner pounded his chest and gestured to Annie. ''Have you even considered another option?''

''There isn't time!'' Bertolt shouted. ''Since Eren awoke the Coordinate battling the Feral Titans it has been killing him! If he dies there's no guarantee that the King could separate the two of them. I don't have time to look for another way!''

''Have you talked to Eren about this?'' Reiner asked. ''It seems important for him to know exactly what's going on.''

Annie stifled a laugh. ''We don't even know what's _exactly _going on. We don't even know where these Titans are coming from.'' _Speaking of which… _Grief cooed. ''But I think I know where he could find them.''

''How could you know?'' Bertolt asked, suddenly regaining his calm.

''Think about it. Where can you find a large number of colossal Titans?'' She asked.

After a moment of thought a wide smile broke out across Bertolt's face. ''No way.'' Annie's solemn expression remained. ''That's not possible. The King wouldn't kill millions to protect us.''

''No, he just got three children to do it for him.'' Reiner spat. ''Annie, explain.''

Annie sighed. ''The only place I can think of where the King can get those Titans are the Walls. If Eren uses the Coordinate those Titans will wake up and walk here before hardening again.''

''But if he did that everyone inside the Walls would be killed in days.'' Bertolt huffed.

''Bertolt, think of the stories that we were told. The stories about the Reiss family.'' Both Bertolt and Reiner looked down. ''We were taught to hate the people of the Walls. We were supposed to attack the Walls and get the Coordinate but we took too long.''

''What do you mean?'' Bertolt said weakly.

''We spent five years in the Walls and we grew to love the people there.'' Annie sighed. ''This was always the plan, attack, get the Coordinate, leave and destroy the walls..''

Bertolt rubbed his eyes. ''I shouldn't have told you.''

''Because now I'll tell Eren?'' Bertolt nodded. ''He needs to know.''

''If he does he'll refuse and our families will die.'' Bertolt pleaded.

''You really have failed to become a warrior haven't you Annie?'' Reiner chuckled. ''We can't stop you Annie; if you go to Eren.''

''Reiner!'' Bertolt protested.

Reiner raised a hand to stop his friend. ''Tell Eren and our families die. Let the Walls be built and millions die but our families live.'' Annie stared at Reiner with open shock. ''We won't tell him or the King but you only have a couple of days.''

''W-Why do I have to make the choice?'' Annie was desperately trying to cling onto her composure.

The voice with which Reiner spoke held no emotion, no anger. It was an answer nothing more. ''Because I want to see where your loyalties really lie. With them, or with us.''

''Reiner this is a stupid idea! You're gambling with the lives of not just your family but everyone's.'' Bertolt pleaded.

''This has to happen. You set this in motion the moment you told Annie.'' Reiner explained.

Bertolt opened his mouth to protest against this insane plan ''When an all too familiar roar shattered the air around them.


	35. Break them down and Build them up

**A/N: Well this chapter is quite an important one. It is time for Eren and Annie to finally talk after what happened by the river. Along with that a lot more happens so make sure to stay tuned. The next chapter might take a while to come due to the fact I've got a lot of... stuff going on so finding the motivation to write is quite difficult. **

**Anyway one more thing before you hopefully read this chapter I want to mention a new story by one of my favourite authors. 'Captrue' by Ostara-san is a friendly and charming story about Jean and Armin in France. Please give it a read if you can. Now read on and enjoy!**

* * *

''That's Eren's roar!'' Annie shouted over the ear-splitting howl, neither Reiner or Bertolt replied or even acknowledged her. They both had their hands covering their ears, the incredible volume of the roar meant that it was practically impossible to figure out where it was coming from. _Annie. It has to be coming from outside. _Somehow Grief's hisses could be heard over the deafening sounds.

Although it felt like longer Eren's roar only lasted a handful of seconds. Once it was over silence fell on the entire village as people looked to the sky trying to figure out where such a horrible howl came from. The only voices heard were coming from the trio of teenage shifters.

''Do… Do you think that was Eren… Doing it?'' Reiner asked with open worry on his face.

''It can't have been. Eren can't have learned to use the Coordinate in such a small space of time.'' Bertolt said to both reassure his friend and himself.

''Then what the hell was that?'' Annie asked.

Bertolt started pacing back and forth trying to come up with a sensible answer. ''I don't know!''

''What do we do?'' Reiner asked as he took hold of Bertolt's shoulders.

''Why are you asking me?''

Reiner scoffed. ''Because you're the one who knows the big plan.''

''And that immediately means I know what's going on?'' Bertolt shouted, shrugging Reiner's hands off of him.

Balling his fists in anger Reiner shoved Bertolt back against a nearby tree. ''Well you've known what's been going on for five years!''

Annie quickly stepped between them and shoved Reiner away from Bertolt. ''Not helping.'' She hissed. ''We need to go see what's going on.'' _But you know what that means. _Desire giggled from the shadows. _Seeing Eren. _But Annie didn't even flinch. _This is more important than what happened between us. _Annie told herself much to the shock of the snakes.

''Eren's roar came from outside the village. How will get out there?'' Bertolt asked.

Annie bite her lip and looked up at Bertolt. ''If I shift I can carry you up the wall.''

''But that's forbidden!'' Bertolt protested.

Reiner came up to them and hummed. ''Annie has a point. It'd be the fastest way.'' Bertolt still didn't look convinced. ''Bertolt, we need to know what's going on. Besides,'' Reiner offered him a small smile. ''What's the King going to do to you? He needs you.'' With that Bertolt, Reiner and Annie began running towards the wall of the caldera. As they ran Bertolt couldn't help but think that this was a sign that he only had a handful of days left to live. In all honesty he wanted to run home and spend his remaining days with his father, sister and brother but he knew he needed to see what was happening.

_There's no way the King would try and do it without telling me. _Bertolt desperately tried to convince himself that everything the King had told him was true. If what Annie had hypothesized was true then could they really do it? Were the lives of millions worth more than the lives of thousands, including his family? Surely Annie had to be wrong, Bertolt knew that the King hated the Riess' and the people of the Walls with great passion but Bertolt had no idea if that hatred was strong enough to kill them all. The look of worry on Annie's face confirmed to Bertolt that Annie was indeed serious.

It only took them minutes to reach the sheer, coal black rockfaces that surrounded their home. ''Now we climb.'' Reiner huffed as he heaved oxygen into his burning lungs.

''Yeah give a minute.'' Annie sighed as she rested her arms behind her head. After catching her breath Annie ordered Bertolt and Reiner to stand back, once they were a safe distance away Annie closed her eyes and focused all her energy into shifting as quickly as possible. Out of her pocket she pulled her silver ring and slipped it on as if it were the most natural action in the world. Moments later she flicked her wrist and a small blade curved out of the rim.

A massive bolt of lightning rocketed into the early morning sky, people all around the village, Torin, Emmerich, Clementine and Julianus. All of them looked up as the signature arc of light reached up into the clouds. Before the cloud of burning steam had passed Reiner and Bertolt were sprinting up to her newly formed frame. ''Hurry! Pick us up, the patrolling shifters are on their way here!'' Bertolt yelled.

Out of the steam came a giant hand, it roughly grabbed both Bertolt and Reiner before lifting them up to her shoulder. After momentarily checking that both of them were safely attached Annie closed her eyes- both pairs- and layered her fingers in several thick layers of crystal. The instant she was ready Annie took a deep breath in and leaped at the wall. Her fingers dug into the rocky surface with little resistance. _Now I just have to climb. _''Climb.'' Annie ordered her right arm out of the wall, she raised it and slammed it into the rock. Operating a Titan took an incredible amount of energy normally, being the long distance runner meant that she was slightly more adapted for such tasks. Slightly. Scaling a sheer wall required an immense amount of energy from Annie. It didn't take long before the strings of flesh started pulling harder and harder at Annie's true body.

With each meter she ascended Annie could feel the burning of the muscles that held her to her Titan frame. _Just a few more meters Ann. _Grief cooed from the shadows. As she climbed Bertolt looked down to the group of Titan shifters that had gathered at the bottom of the surface. One of the larger shifters started chasing Annie using the holes the she made to climb after her. ''Annie! Below us!'' Bertolt warned. Annie craned her giant head around to face her follower. Annie pulled one of her feet out from the wall, she crystalised it as quickly as she could before slamming it down into the approaching Titan's face. The Titan lost its grip and fell, it crashed into the ground in a great cloud of dust. _You'll need to apologise for that later. _Desire scoffed, but Annie paid no heed, instead she just kept climbing and climbing and climbing. It wasn't long before Annie reached the lip of the caldera. Both her Titan and her true body were exhausted. The chamber in which her human form was held with growing increasingly hot, to a point where it was becoming dangerous to continue.

Bertolt could see the strain in Annie's great blue eyes. ''Annie, are you okay?'' He called out to her from his perch on her shoulder. Annie took a long breath and nodded slowly, it was a gesture that told him that she could continue. ''Reiner. Hang on!'' Bertolt shouted to his friend on the other shoulder.

''Oh trust me, I am!'' Reiner yelled as Annie picked herself up and stood on the very rim of the caldera. She gave her passengers one more moment to prepare before leaping off.

Annie had planned to almost skate down the incline of the dead volcano so that she might quickly make it to the bottom. The crystal lining on the soles of her feet allowed her to do just that. Annie trusted that Bertolt and Reiner could hang on without any support from her, this allowed Annie to use her hands to guide her descent. The stress on her body was so intense that for a brief moment, when she struggled against the strings of flesh Annie thought, for just a brief and terrifying moment Annie thought that she was stuck, locked in her Titan frame. The fleeting fear passed the instant she felt some of the thews release.

Once they had reached the bottom Annie knelt down, Reiner jumped down as soon as he could. Reiner thanked Annie before running in the direction of Eren's roar, Bertolt however was keeping a closer eye on Annie's health. The rushed shift along with the climb and the strain of maintaining the crystal as she slide down the rocks added to the fact that Annie hadn't had a full nights sleep since coming taken its tole on her. Bertolt climbed round to the nape of Annie's neck, the temperature of her skin was so high that it had started to part and split.

Bertolt knew that with enough effort and by enduring incredible amounts of pain Annie could pull herself free but Bertolt was going to let Annie go through all that, not when he was only days away from essentially dying. He drove his hands between the separations in the female Titan's skin, Bertolt was shocked by the sheer heat radiating off of her giant wasn't long before Bertolt's hands started to burn, but with each inch he got closer to the piolt. Seconds later Bertolt's forearms were deep into the burning mess of muscle and bone, it took only moments more for him to find a glint of Annie's golden hair. ''Annie!'' Bertolt shouted as he heaved and pulled, threads of sinew snapped as Bertolt freed Annie from her Titan.

_Ann, time to wake up. You have work to do. _The coo of the snake's hisses brought Annie out of the dark. Upon regaining consciousness Annie started to cough violently as her starving lungs were finally receiving the oxygen they needed. The first thing she saw when her eyes fluttered open was the bright morning sky, in the background she could hear a voice. A panicked voice. ''Annie! Wake up. Come on, we have to hurry.'' Gradually the voice became more and more clear.

''Bertolt…'' She coughed.

''You shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard.'' Bertolt sighed as he held her in his arms. ''Can you stand?'' Annie nodded. ''Good, I hope you can run as well.''

* * *

Reiner was circling the caldera keeping an eye out for both Feral Titans and Eren. _Annie's an idiot for trying so hard. _He told himself. _I should have shifted and climbed. I have the endurance for it. _Reiner paused to catch his breath. _Berty will look after her. _He thought with a slight smirk. Only moments later was that smirk wiped off his face. ''What the hell?'' He gawked.

Standing just over two hundred feet away from him the Beast Titan was resting a large, clawed hand on the shoulder of Eren's Titan. The distance between him and them stopped Reiner from making a judgment call on what had lead to the gesture. Just as he was about to sprint over to them and demand to know what was going on when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

''Reiner! What's going on?'' Bertolt yelled as he and an exhausted looking Annie rounded on him. Reiner pointed to the Beat Titan that was now pointing to the far horizon with his other long arm. ''What the hell?''

Both the Titan's sharp,pointed ears pricked up at the sound of Bertolt's shouts. Both the Titans turned to face the source of the voice.

''Ah… Bertolt.'' The Beast Titan growled. ''Eren. Our lesson is concluded, leave and rest.''

There was a rush of steam as the nape of Eren's neck parted. ''Why? What's wrong?'' Eren closed his eyes, his human eyes, Eren's vision changed to the great emerald orbs that sat in the face of his Titan. He scanned the surrounding area looking for whatever had caught the King's attention. It took only seconds for him to lock his eyes onto the three approaching teenagers, specifically one of them.

''Annie.'' Eren hissed as he took a large stride towards her.

''Eren, is something the matter?'' The Beast King asked stepping between him and the three shifters.

But Eren paid no attention to his words, he kept taking steps towards them, to Annie. Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie immediately recognised that Eren was coming however only Annie felt a heavy ball of fear form in her stomach. ''Annie, is something wrong?'' Bertolt asked as Eren's pace increased.

''Maybe he's just happy to see her.'' Reiner scoffed. _Oh if only he knew. _Grief giggled. Only when Eren was less than a hundred feet away did Annie start stepping back. ''Annie?'' Reiner said with a deep tone of worry.

''What's wrong?'' Bertolt demanded stepping forward.

The Beast Titan rushed forward and in a voice that shook the earth he shouted. ''Eren!'' This time, Eren stopped, he craned his head around and glared at the King with frustration in his eyes. ''Will you attack them?''

''Just one of them.'' Eren spat.

''Oh, and which one might I ask?'' Eren responded by raising one of his giant arms and pointed a finger at Annie. ''And what has Annie done to warrant such… hostility?''

Eren turned his human head around to face the King. ''I remembered what sort of monster she was.''

''You mean the people she killed to bring you here?'' Eren nodded. ''I thought I explained this to you.''

''I Unravelled with her. I saw it, felt it. Fuck I even tasted it.'' Eren shouted. ''She's a monster that needs to be put down.''

''And what does that make you? The only people they killed were those that threatened us, like you killed the Titans that threatened you.'' The King explained.

Eren's expression quickly changed into one of anger, bitter, burning anger. ''My mum didn't threaten anybody!'' He screamed, Eren took a deep breath before diving back into his Titan. The fleshy pit welcomed its pilot and quickly enveloped him, as soon as the nape of his neck closed over Eren assumed full control over his Titan. And immediately charged at Annie.

Eren was moving too quickly for the King to stop him, even his long, strong arms couldn't halt Eren. Annie was too exhausted to defend herself, Bertolt couldn't shift without risk of killing both Reiner and Annie. Only Reiner could stop him.

As if he could read their minds Reiner started sprinting towards the charging Titan. As soon as he was far enough away from the other two Reiner brought his hand to his mouth and bit down as hard as he could.

Even as the lightning rose from his body and the cloud of steam engulfed him Reiner kept running. As he ran the bones and muscles that made up the Armoured Titan formed around him, with every step came a new limb or plate of armour until out of the clouds came the Armoured Titan.

Using all the momentum he had gained Reiner threw a haymaker punch that would have turned Eren's head to a streaming mess. If it had connected. To Eren it appeared Reiner had been moving in slow motion, when the arching strike came he simply ducked underneath it and with all his all supernatural strength he launched himself up. With an open hand he clasped the Armoured Titans neck with an iron like grip.

With all the power he had gained while sprinting Eren launched Reiner into the air. _Fucks sake Annie. Why'd you teach him all this? _That was all Reiner could think before Eren threw him into the ground with all the strength he could muster.

The column of dust thrown up from the impact rose high into the sky, the strength with which Eren threw Reiner caused a shockwave so powerful that Bertolt and Annie almost lost their footing. Once the cloud had settled the Beast Titan couldn't help but chuckle, the infamous Armoured Titan was lying in a small crater. Eren growled loudly at his fallen opponent before heading towards his original target.

''Annie run!'' Bertolt screamed as he too started sprinting towards Eren, if he could get enough distance from Annie then maybe he could partially shift and hold Eren off. He had never been very good at partial shifts but it was either try or let Eren kill Annie.

As Eren ran towards them Reiner tilted his head back and launched one of his arms like a missile. His open hand caught the back of Eren's right foot. With what little energy he had left the Armoured Titan tore out the rogue Titan's Achilles tendon. Eren's right leg went limp causing him to fall to one knee.

''Good job Reiner.'' Bertolt whispered to himself, now that Eren was momentarily immobile Bertolt looked back to Annie, she was at least fifty feet away now meaning that if he needed to Bertolt could shift but judging by the fact that Reiner had now climbed out of the crater maybe he wouldn't have to.

For a normal human being, a torn Achilles tendon would take months to heal. For an enraged Titan shifter however, it would take only a couple of minutes at the most. In that time however, Reiner could hopefully tear Eren from his Titan. Even with his damaged leg, Eren was still advancing towards Annie at a startling pace but Reiner was faster.

As he got closer the Armoured Titan broke into its signature sprint The thunderous sound of his feet hitting the floor gave Eren precious moments to prepare but moments weren't enough. All he could do was turn around and throw his arms up in a pathetic excuse for defence.

The Armoured Titan's giant shoulder caught Eren's Titan in the center of his chest. Eren's ribcage shattered like glass, the sheer force of the impact sent Eren's giant frame flying, once he had come to a stop the plates around the Armoured Titan's mouth parted and a burning jet of steam shot out of his mouth. From inside his fleshy cockpit Reiner sighed. _Please stay down Eren. I don't want to do this again. _

The injuries Reiner had inflicted on the Titan were devastating but through sheer force of will Eren started crawling towards Annie who was now staring with open horror on her face.

_The last time I saw him with that look in his eyes was back in Trost. _Greif hissed. _And remember what happened to everything that stood in his way. _Annie didn't even need to focus on the burning or the screaming, the blood or the sheer destruction, least at all the sight of the aptly named Berserk Titan obliterating every Titan unlucky enough to cross its memories were seared into her mind forever.

Reiner walked his Titan form up to Eren, he took a moment to look back at the Beast Titan, he was simply watching with a crooked toothy smile. _Don't smile like that you smug bastard. _Reiner said to himself as he readied his hand at the nape of the crippled Titan's neck.

''Get him out of there!'' Bertolt shouted. ''Before he can heal.''

_You got it Berty. _Reiner told him silently as he drove his hands into the nape of Eren's neck. A series of bone snapping crunches followed as the force of Reiner's grip shattered the Titan's vertebrate, once he was confident that Eren was in his grasp Reiner ripped him from the Titan with relative ease. The Armoured Titan threw the wad of steaming flesh to the ground with a wet slapping sound.

There was a long period of silence as Reiner, Bertolt, Annie and the Beast Titan watched as Eren struggled to free himself from the strings of muscle that bound him. Once he was free Eren didn't pay any attention to the looming Titan standing over him, Eren simply locked eyes with Annie and started walking towards her.

Bertolt ran up to him to stop him. ''Don't take another step.'' He warned with a hand raised to his mouth. Surprisingly Eren listened to him. ''What are you doing?''

''I need to talk to Annie.'' Eren showed no signs of exhaustion even after being beaten down. ''So get out of the way.''

''I'm not an idiot. I won't let you attack Annie.'' Bertolt growled.

Eren sighed and rubbed his temples. ''Do you think you shifting will stop me?''

''If I shift I could kill you, or at least knock you out.'' Bertolt reinforced.

''That's why you won't do it. You know what happens if I die.''

Eren and Bertolt were so focused on each other that neither of them realised that Annie was coming towards them. ''Bertolt, let me handle this.'' Her voice had all the ice that they had both come to know over the years. Bertolt went to protest but when he saw the glare in her eyes he stood back. _I haven't seen that look in her eyes in a long time. _Both Eren and Annie stood only a handful of feet apart and just stared at each other. Even the snakes went silent, this was something that they couldn't interrupt. ''What were you doing with the King?''

''What does it look like?'' Annie didn't flinch. ''I was practising so when the time came I could save your home.'' He sighed. ''I told you to stay away from me didn't I?'' Eren added with a growl.

''This,'' Annie gestured to the mountainous ring that protected her home. ''Is more important than our petty problems.''

Eren balled his fists. ''Is that all this was then?'' He said pointing to Annie and them himself. ''Petty?''

''Yes and the only reason you don't realise it is because you're an idiot.''

Eren snorted a short laugh. ''First you kidnap me, break my heart, make me hate you and now you're calling me an idiot.''

''Just shut up and listen. Think about your crazy plan for a moment.''

Eren raised an eyebrow. ''What about it?''

Only now did the snakes reveal themselves from the shadows. _Tell Eren and our families die. Let the Walls be built and millions die. _Annie shuddered as Grief did a perfect impression of Reiner's words. _We can find another way to save our home. I'm sorry guys. _Annie thought to herself.

''Think about the plan and tell me if anything sticks out as wrong.'' It was at this very moment that the Beast Titan's sharp ears picked up on what Annie was getting at. Knowing that if Annie spilled the truth his entire plan would collapse the King started running towards them, at his pace it would take a matter of seconds.

''No!'' Eren shouted. ''Don't beat around the bush. Whatever it is, you are going to tell me now or I swear I'll kill you where you stand.''

''Annie. What is it you _think _you know?'' The Beast Titan asked as he loomed over the two of them.

One of the first lessons Annie had learned as a child was to under no circumstance fight the King. He was stronger, wiser and more ruthless than anyone presently alive. His people were treated equally, the Titan ruled his people with benevolence. As long as they pledged to him. So the thought of openly protesting against his plan was one that sent a cold shiver down her spine.

''Actually.'' The King hummed. ''Before you explain whatever you think you know, tell me how you came to an inevitably ridiculous idea.''Annie had never heard her ruler speak with such venom.

_Annie. _Grief said in a low tone. _This is where you decide if you will become a warrior. _The snake whispered. _Or a traitor. _Desire cooed. Before answering Annie looked over to Bertolt. A light sweat had broken out across his forehead but when he realised Annie was looking at him he gave her the smallest possible smile and the faintest nod.

Balling her fists Annie looked directly into the coal black eyes of the Beast Titan. ''Bertolt told me what you planned to use the Coordinate for and what it would involve.''

''Did he now.'' The King hummed briefly flickering his view to Bertolt.

''I thought it was right that Annie and Reiner know what was going to happen to me.'' It was odd to hear such confidence in Bertolt's normally timid voice, from inside his cocoon of flesh and bone Reiner felt his heart swell with pride as Bertolt stood against the King.

''Wait, what are you talking about? What's going to happen to you?'' Eren asked marching up to Bertolt.

Bertolt didn't take his eyes off the giant looming over him. ''I'm going to become part of the new walls. I'll shift and line up with the other Titans and you'll use the Coordinate to make us harden our skin.'' He explained.

''What?'' Eren gawked. ''Why?''

''Because it'll save the people I love, I'd thought you of all people would understand that.''

''But there's something I still don't get,'' Eren said ruffling his hair. ''Where will you get all the Titans needed for this to happen?'' Eren asked looking up to the Titan.

_Looks like he saved you the trouble of explaining it. _Grief giggled.

Annie had hoped that the Beast Titan would show some sign of shock or surprise in his stone like expression but he didn't even twitch. ''Far to the south there is a large herd of colossal Titans. Forty meters tall at least. When you are ready you, I and Bertolt will travel to the south and lead them here.'' Now the King turned his unyielding gaze to Annie. ''Do you have anything to add?'' Annie remained silent. ''Good, Reiner.'' He ordered to the Titan standing behind him. ''Since you are already in your Titan take Eren and Annie back to the village.'' There was no way that Reiner would disobey an order in this situation.

Reiner walked his giant frame over to where Annie and Eren were standing. He knelt down to one knee and offered the two his open hand. As he stepped on Eren looked up to Reiner's slightly cracked armoured face. ''Sorry Reiner, I, er… lost myself for a moment.'' Reiner couldn't speak from his position and he didn't want to waste the energy leaving his shell so instead he shrugged his giant shoulders.

Once the two of them were on board Reiner lifted his hand up to the crook of his shoulder where they leaped into one of the many partings in the armour of his chest. With his passengers safely aboard the Armoured Titan stood and started walking to the near sheer walls of the dormant volcano. Every now and again Annie would glance over the Eren and each time he would be looking directly ahead of them, not even paying her the slightest degree of attention to her.

_What do you expect? _The snakes sighed in horrible harmony.

''I'm sorry for charging you.'' Eren's sudden apology caught Annie off guard, she turned to face him but he was still looking directly ahead.

''No one got hurt so I suppose it's alright.'' Although it seemed as if they were alone Reiner jerked his shoulders as if to remind them that he had, in fact, he had gotten hurt. _Did you forget Eren threw me so hard I made a crater? _He thought to himself. ''You still haven't got the throws down yet.'' Annie pointed out.

This time Eren did look at her. ''Really? You're going to lecture me after what happened?''

''You still hate me?''

Eren looked down from his perch and sighed. ''I don't know, after I left, your dad helped me work it out.'' Eren paused to look directly at Annie with a weak smile. ''The King explained a lot as well, about why you did what you did.'' There was sudden determination in his eyes. ''Don't get me wrong I don't and will not forgive you. I just… understand you better now.''

''Since when did you get so mature?'' Annie chuckled.

Eren laughed quietly before answering ''Since some short, icy, blonde girl kidnaped me and showed me the world.''

Even the snakes joined in with them. _He's got you there Ann. _They both scoffed. ''So I can sleep in my own home without worrying about you attacking me?''

''Unless you feel like sparring again.'' Eren shrugged.

Annie smirked at him. ''I might take you up on that, I haven't had a good spar in a while.''

''I beat you last time, I can do it again.'' Eren boasted.

Annie crossed her arms as Reiner began climbing the steep incline. ''You and I both know that was a fluke.''

_Ugh… They're forcing me to listen to their flirting. _Reiner sighed to himself. _I thought they hated each other. _Just as he reached the top Reiner sharpened the armour of his fingers and drove them into the rocky wall. Once he was sure that he was stable Reiner ejected himself from the cockpit of his Titan. After taking several deep breaths Reiner called down to his passengers.

''Sorry to interrupt but isn't there something more important to be talking about?'' With his message hopefully, put across he reattached himself to his Titan and started climbing once again.

_He has a point Annie. _Grief sighed.

''What's he on about?'' Eren asked.

Annie looked around to make sure the King wasn't following them, she could still make out his giant figure standing over Bertolt. ''The King lied to you. About the Titans to the south.''

Eren chuckled dryly. ''Why would he do that?''

_Come on then Annie. Make your choice. _Reiner whispered into the dark.

''There is only one place that has the perfect number of colossal Titans.'' Each word felt heavier than the last as she began to contemplate the consequences of what she had just done.

Annie could see in Eren's eyes the moment he figured out what she suggesting. ''Are you mad?'' He barked. ''There's no way, there's just no way. What makes you think he's lying?''

_He has a point there Annie. _Desire hummed. The reason she had for doubting the King was a weak one built upon nothing more than a guess and a handful of coincidences. ''The King hates the Reiss's and your people. Our mission…'' Annie took a deep breath. ''We were supposed to work our way through the Walls killing you all until we found the Reiss family.''

A brief wave of anger washed over Eren, normally hearing his enemies describing what could only be called a horrific massacre would have caused Eren to lose control of himself and lash out. This time however Eren simply looked down to the passing rocks and bite his tongue. ''I think the King wants to build the new walls and kill your people.''

''Kill two birds with one stone.'' Eren growled.

Annie looked at Eren with a confused expression in her eyes. ''What?''

''Killing two birds with one stone. You've never heard that before?''

Annie nodded. ''What's it mean?''

''It means… I guess it means to get two things done by only doing one thing.'' Eren explained. You don't say that here?''

''No, it's a weird phrase.''

Eren rubbed the back of his head with his free hand and sighed. ''So you think the King wants to use me to tear down the walls protecting my home? What if I just refuse?'' Eren laughed dryly.

''Then you'll be forced to watch as our people are slowly eaten by Ferals.'' The somber nature of Annie's tone told Eren that she was being deadly serious.

''This is ridiculous!'' Eren laughed. ''I don't believe it, like Bertolt becoming part of the wall that's just crazy.''

Annie looked out over her village and sighed. ''Just think about it. Now hold on, we're going down.'' Eren turned his attention to the Armoured Titan that had now begun the long, slow climb down the vertical rock face. _Well, that's just great. He doesn't believe us. _Greif sighed. _We're not even sure about it ourselves. _Desire added.

The remainder of the journey was silent as Eren tried to comprehend the craziness that Annie had explained to him. _There's no way right. I don't even know if the Walls are made of Titans. Why would I destroy the Walls? _To him, it didn't make any sense that King would ask him to destroy the Walls.

Once Reiner reached the bottom of the wall he raised a hand to his shoulder, Annie and Eren climbed on and he slowly lowered them to the ground. _Well that was interesting. _Huffed the pilot of the Armoured Titan as his passengers leaped off. Once they were both a safe distance away Reiner lowered his giant frame to its knees and parted the armoured plates around his neck. No matter how many times he shifted detaching himself from the many binding thews of bloody flesh was always the hardest and most unpleasurable aspect of it.

''Reiner,'' Eren called up to him. ''Are you alright?''

Before answering Reiner took several deep breaths to satisfy his hungry lungs. ''I hate climbing.'' He huffed before looking down at Eren and Annie. ''Yeah, I'm alright. Give me a minute.'' With that Reiner heaved and pulled against the Titan that held so strongly onto to him.

It took several minutes for Reiner to fully separate himself from his Titan. When he was done Reiner leaped down and walked over the Annie and Eren. ''Where's Bertolt?'' Annie asked.

''I think the King wants to talk to him about leaking the plan.'' Reiner said looking back to the black rock wall.

''Why did he tell you guys?'' Eren asked.

Both Annie and Reiner looked at each other before a small smirk crossed Reiner's lips. ''Because he wanted us to know what we fought for. Besides,'' Reiner paused to take a deep breath. ''If he really is going to part of the new walls then I guess he doesn't want any regrets.'' Although she didn't say a word Eren could see in her eyes that Annie second Reiner's opinion.

A brief silence fell on them until Eren asked quite an important question ''So now what?''

''We wait until Bertolt can properly tell us what's going on.'' Reiner hummed.

''Good,'' Annie said as she walked in the direction of her house. ''That means you can go home and face your father.'' She said pointing to Reiner.

''What?''

''You haven't been home since we got here. Go home..'' Annie ordered.

Eren went to follow her but before he left he turned to Reiner. ''Thank you.'' He said loud enough for Reiner to hear him but no one else. Once he jogged up to Annie's side he looked over and rubbed the back of his head.

''What is it?'' Annie asked.

''You know you weren't home last night?'' Annie nodded. ''Torin said that… I could sleep, in your room.''

''So?'' Annie shrugged. ''I don't really care, although tonight I'm sleeping in my own bed. You can have the floor or something.''

Eren chuckled quietly. ''I knew you'd say that.''


	36. Long time no see

**I think I have some apologizing to do... It has been SO long since I updated and I'm so sorry about that, I've been busy with school and university applications and loads of other crap so it has taken an insane amount of time and effort to write this chapter. I do intend to finish this story but it'll take a while so if anyone still cares about this fic then thank you for sticking with my erratic updates and please enjoy this chapter and if you like please leave a review. **

**Enjoy and read on! **

* * *

(One week later)

Eren ducked beneath a tightly balled fist that was aimed for his right shoulder. A momentary wave of pride washed over him as he dodged the attack, however the second long lapse in concentration gave his opponent more than enough to time to sweep his legs out from under him with a wide kick.

Standing above him with with a sly smile on her pink lips was Annie Leonhart. She stood with her arms crossed as she looked down at her opponent. ''Dodging one strike doesn't mean you can lower your guard.'' Eren responded by quickly getting to his feet and unleashing a barrage of quick strikes aimed at Annie's chest and head.

Anyone else would have struggled against such a flurry of punches but Annie weaved between Eren's attacks as if she were made of water. _He won't be able to keep that up for long. _She thought with a savage grin, it took only seconds for Eren to tire enough for Annie to counter, as Eren threw a particularly weak punch Annie reached out grasped his wrist and using his momentum she pulled him towards her. Eren stumbled forward and was about to shout out for Annie to stop when a slender but strong hand closed around his neck.

Eren's words died in his throat and all that came from his was a panicked cough. Before he could come up with a plan to break Annie's hold his opponent threw him down into the grass. Eren landed with a loud thud and a grunt of pain. With his vision obscured by the pain all Eren could see was a blurry figure standing above him, Annie was looming over him in her signature stance but from Eren's position he saw something very different.

Looking up all Eren could see was the skinless Titan that had captured him in the forest what felt like a year ago. Eren gritted his teeth and bite his tongue in an attempt to forcibly focus himself. _It's Annie, it's Annie, it's Annie. _He told himself over and over again. Eren was biting himself with such strength that blood was dripping out of a cut on his tongue. The thick coppery taste only heightened his growing rage.

''Eren?'' Annie was concerned was the grimace of pain, confusion, and anger that was growing on Eren's face. Annie dropped her stance and slowly made her way over to him. ''Are you alright?''

The worry in Annie's voice was what brought Eren back to reality, his vision cleared and the Female Titan standing over him was gone, replaced by a worried Annie Leonhart. ''Sorry, I hit my head.'' He groaned.

''Must of hit it pretty hard, you look really…'' Annie's voice trailed off as Grief slithered out of its hole. _Murderous? Is that the word? _

Eren slowly got to his feet and rubbed the back of his head. ''It was a good throw, I guess you just threw me a little too well.''

Annie wiped the veil of sweat that coated her forehead and sighed. ''Maybe we should take a break.''

''Why?'' Eren grinned. ''Getting tired?''

Annie rolled her eyes and rushed forward gripped Eren's shoulder and arced her foot behind his and with next to no effort she sent him back into the grass and dirt. ''Do I look tired?'' She cooed. Eren pouted at her and got back to his feet, he assumed his fighting stance but Annie was already walking back to the front door of her home. ''If you really want to keep going go kick the posts for a while.'' Annie shrugged. ''But I'm going to get something to drink.''

''Wait! I want a drink as well.'' Eren protested chasing after Annie.

''Twenty kicks, twenty kicks then you can come in.'' With that, she disappeared inside and Eren heard her lock the door.

''Fine.'' He pouted. Eren slowly walked over to the array of padded wooden poles that dotted the back of Annie's home. ''Is this what Annie used to train as a kid?'' Eren asked himself as he picked out a particularly worn down oak pillar. Eren sighed as he assumed the stance that Annie had spent months teaching him, Eren liked to think that he had at least mastered this aspect of Annie's style of fighting. Taking a deep breath Eren swung his right leg around in a tight arc, a dull pain spread up his leg but to Eren he barely felt it.

Each strike brought more pain seeping through his leg and by the tenth kick Eren had to stop. He leaned against the wooden pole and grimaced as an incredible heat spread around the bruising on his leg. As he rested Eren couldn't help but think back to his first fight with Annie. ''She pretty much crippled me with that one kick.'' Eren chuckled. ''No wonder her legs are so strong if she had been doing this for years.'' Once the pain in his leg had subsided Eren went straight back to kicking the pole, as bone struck against wood Eren couldn't help but think about what had happened moments ago.

_You almost attacked her. _Eren thought to himself. _In that moment who did you see? Annie or the Female Titan? _''I don't know.'' He growled. _You need to figure this out before someone gets hurt. _''I know, I know.'' His voice was little more than a low snarl at this point as he struck the wood over and over again. ''This is a mess.'' Eren sighed taking a short break. _You can't dance around this decision forever. _This time Eren buckled down and kept kicking the wooden post until it felt like his leg was going to fall off.

Eren collapsed to the floor clutching his leg, he pulled up his trouser leg to let the air cool the burning of the dark purple bruise that was spreading across his calf. He watched as the bruising faded in front of his eyes and before long his leg was completely healed, it was only that this point that Eren realised how hungry he was. Once he was sure he could stand Eren got to his feet and made his way indoors.

''You took your time.'' Ymir chuckled as Eren walked through the door.

Eren glared in her direction. ''I was working out, unlike you lazy sap.'' Ymir replied by rolling her eyes, she looked over to Historia, who was throwing logs onto the fire, and winked, Historia's cheeks flared a fiery red and shie hurried back to her work.

''You so sure about that?'' Ymir shook his head and made his way over to the sink where a large cup of water was waiting. ''Annie went upstairs to wash up, she said she'd be down later.'' Ymir added.

''Thanks.'' Eren said between large gulps. ''Hey Ymir, how are you holding up here?''

''My goodness.'' Ymir pretended to swoon. ''Is Eren taking interest in people other than himself and little miss unsociable?''

Eren rolled his eyes. ''Funny, I was just asking how you're doing here.''

''Why do you want to know?''

''Because since we got in this… mess we've spoken at most forty words to each other.'' Eren said shrugging extravagantly.

Ymir took a seat at the large wooden table and sighed. ''It's weird being here, I almost remember it.''

A small smile spanned Eren's lips.m ''I know what you mean,'' Ymir narrowed her eyes. ''Whenever I try to remember what happened to my father I can only see blurry images.''

''It's good to know someone else suffers with the same problems.'' Ymir chuckled.

''Do you want to remember?'' Ymir shook her head. ''Why not?''

Once again Ymir looked over to Historia and smiled. ''Her,'' She pointed. ''My old life was over the moment I refused to have kids. Bertolt and the others gave me a second chance and thanks to her I'm making the most of it.''

For several seconds Eren remained silent, in the three years he had known Ymir he had never learnt very much about her, no one had. Everyone knew that Ymir had a strange fondness for the then named Krista but beyond that she was a mystery. ''You really care for her then.''

''More than you know.'' Ymir chuckled as she stood, Ymir made her way to the door and looked over to Historia who was now watching her with a small but proud smile. ''I'm going to go look around the village, you wanna come?''

Historia threw one last log onto the fire and walked over to her companion. ''Depends. Are you going to get us kidnapped again?'' Ymir clutched her sides in sarcastic laughter. ''You going to be okay?'' Historia asked turning to Eren who nodded.

''What are you gonna do?'' Eren asked as Ymir made her way to the door.

''We're going to the market to get some food.''

''Want me to come with you?'' Eren suggested.

A wide smirk slowly spread across Historia's face. ''No, no. You can stay here with Annie.''

''What's that supposed to mean?'' Eren asked, but the only reply he got was a stifled laugh from Historia. She made her way to the door and gave Eren a sly wink before leaving with Torin and Ymir. In the week since his confrontation with Annie Eren had spent nearly every minute of every day strengthening himself for the day when he build the walls.

He could now shift without fault and Annie was even teaching him how to perform a partial shift. Despite his success Eren was still unable to use the Coordinate, it was maddening but both the King and Annie had confidence that it would come to him soon. With Ymir, Historia and Torin gone the house was near enough silent, deciding that Annie would appreciate a hot drink he made his way over to the sink and filled the kettle with water before putting it over the fire.

As Eren waited for the water boil he thought to the fragile relationship he had built with Annie and the others. Every time he and Annie sparred he felt himself falling for her even more, it reminded of the months and years they spent together in training, even time she sent him into the dust Eren felt his heart flutter. Even now after everything he had seen and learned he couldn't help but feel himself falling for her all over again.

Eren loved Annie, but with an anger like no other, he hated the Female Titan. Rebuilding the bridges between himself and Annie was a dangerous gambit and in doing so the line between Annie and the Female Titan was blurred to the extreme.

His relationship with Bertolt and Reiner was improving with time. Eren was beginning to understand the reasons for their attack on the Walls. His lessons with the King had shown him that their people were truly desperate. Eren had learned that the King's people used to farm and hunt the lands outside the caldera before the Ferals arrived. While he would never forgive them for what they did to him and his family, he just understood their reasons for doing so.

Eren was brought out of his trance by the sound of Annie making her way down the stairs, he quickly pulled two cups from a shelf and filled them with boiling water.

''What are you doing?'' Annie asked as she made her way towards Eren.

Eren turned to face her and gave her a wide smile. ''I'm making tea for you.''

Annie scoffed before going and sitting down at the table. She watched as Eren stirred in the tea leaves with an amused expression, once content with his work he brought the steaming cups over to Annie and sat down. Eren watched with bated breath as Annie inspected his work and took a small sip.

''Not bad.'' She shrugged after taking a second sip.

Eren furrowed his eyebrows. ''What's that supposed to mean?''

''It means it's not bad,'' Annie said leaning back against her chair. ''Anyway, we need to talk about something.''

Without realizing it Eren had balled his fists and was pressing his teeth against his tongue. Whenever Annie spoke in such a vague tone it always put him on edge.

''What's wrong?''

After taking a long, deliberated drink Annie put her cup down. ''Nothing's wrong, that's the point. Ever since we arrived and started training you've be growing at an incredible rate,'' For a moment Eren felt a strange sense of pride fill him up. ''Don't let it get to your head. You're still far from mastering it all.'' Annie said, rolling her eyes. ''I just mean that you've gotten better.''

''And why do you need to tell me this?''

''Because I think you're ready.'' Eren felt like the floor had disappeared underneath him, it felt like an age ago that he had arrived at the village and now apparently he was ready to change everything. "I'm not the judge though. The final decision rests with the king."

Annie was to say slightly surprised when Eren started laughing, this, in her opinion was a serious matter and not something to be made a joke of.

"Something funny?" Annie said with a hint of ice.

"No, no. It's just, that this almost reminds me of our time in training you know? Wondering if and when we'll pass." Eren explained.

Annie rolled her eyes. "Well sorry to burst the nostalgia bubble but more than our rank depends on this."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"I just want you to focus, it's a big deal." Annie explained.

An uneasy silence fell on the two of them, since the confrontation with the King, Annie couldn't shift that the thought her leader was lying about the Titans. As Annie lost herself in thought Eren asked a question that had been plaguing both Annie and Reiner.

"How's Bertolt doing?"

_How is he doing Ann? _Grief asked with an oddly gentle tone.

After several silent moments, Annie shrugged. "I don't know, he's been with his family."

"Surely he'd want to spend time with you guys as well." Eren suggested.

Annie put down her cup. "He hasn't seen them in ye-" Annie was cut off by the sound of banging on the door.

"Annie! Annie! Are you there?" Bertolt yelled.

Annie and Eren stared at each other before bolting for the door. "What is it?" Eren shouted as he opened the door. The first thing Eren noticed was the tall boy's chest was heaving, evidence that he had been running.

Bertolt looked down at Eren and spoke only two words.

"Survey Corps."

* * *

Eren, Annie and Bertolt were sprinting through the village as fast as their legs could carry them, their minds racing with possibilities. As they ran they saw crowds of worried looking people gathering around the base of the great stone wall.

Not only were people walking towards the sheer rock face but the patrolling Titans, that Eren had kept a close eye on, were beginning to climb to meet their leader who was watching the approaching formation with clear worry.

"We need to get up there!" Eren shouted as they rounded the final corner.

As Bertolt ran he craned his head around to the various Titans that were climbing the wall and saw exactly what he was looking for. Assembling underneath the Beast King was the distinctive gold plates of the Armoured Titan.

"Reiner!" Bertolt yelled. Almost immediately the giant head of the Titan turned and his glowing eyes quickly focused on the three of them, he slowly made his way to the trio and knelt down. "We need to get up there." Reiner responded by opening a giant hand and lowering it to them. Bertolt quickly jumped aboard and climbed up to his shoulder.

Eren was quick to follow and the moment he landed on Reiner's hand he turned around and offered his hand to Annie. For a moment she was astounded by Eren's chivalry but a second later she took his hand and he heaved her up.

Whispering a quick thanks she then climbed up to Reiner's other shoulder and told him to begin climbing. First making sure that Eren was safely aboard Reiner dug his fingers into the stoney wall and began hauling himself and his passengers to the rim.

As they climbed Eren shouted over to Bertolt. "How did you find out about this?"

Bertolt steadied himself before answering. "I was walking along the wall with the King when we saw the dust, his eyes were better than mine and when he told me about the emblem they wore I knew who it was."

"It took us four days to get here on a Titan. They must have been traveling for almost a week." Annie explained. "Why would go on such a risky mission."

Their attention was stolen when an all too familiar bolt of lightning erupted from the ground beneath them. Eren and Bertolt clapped their hands over their ears and screwed their eyes shut.

"What the hell was that?" Eren yelled. His answer came seconds later.

A blur of claws and dark brown hair rushed past the Armoured Titan and attached itself to the wall several feet above Reiner.

"Ymir!" Bertolt gawked. "Are you crazy?"

Out of the mane of brown hair comes a flustered looking blonde girl. "Sorry!" Historia yells at the top of her voice. Using her incredible dexterity and speed Ymir clawed her way to the top of the wall in no time.

It several more minutes for Reiner to catch up them and by the time Reiner hauled himself and his passengers to the very top Ymir had ejected herself from her Titan and Historia was already looking out over the horizon, upon noticing them Ymir turned around and smirked.

"What took you so long?" Reiner answered by forcibly ejecting himself from his Titan in a cloud of angry steam.

"You could have knocked me off if you were any closer!" He coughed.

"Like anything would happen if you did." Ymir scoffed. "Besides, what's going on here?" Reiner took a deep breath before willing his body to point a single finger towards the now stationary formation of horses. "What the hell is that?"

"The Survey Corps." Eren growled.

* * *

"Have they moved?" Bertolt called up to the Beast Titan who was intently watching the humans.

The great Titan scratched behind his ears and humed. "No, they haven't moved an inch. They're probably waiting for him." The Beast Titan extended one of his long arms and pointed at Eren. "And her as well." He shifted his arm to at Historia.

"What are we going to do?" Annie asked as she peered over the edge.

"It was only a matter of time until they found us… Let the Ferals have them." The blood boiled in Eren's veins faster than ever before.

"What!? You can't do that!" Eren shouted. "Let them in." He ordered.

The Beast Titan look down at Eren and brought himself down his level. "Your people never let us in." He snarled.

Eren balled his fists and bite down on his tongue. He could feel Annie and Bertolt's eyes pleading with him to stop. "Let them in or I won't build the walls." The gravity of Eren's tone could be felt by everyone, even by the Beast Titan.

"If you don't build those walls," The Titan leaned in closer so Eren could feel the steaming breath from the King's nose. "You. Will. Die."

To the horror of everyone watching Eren didn't back down, he leaned in closer. "Let them in."

"No." Without even waiting for a reaction Eren leaped off the edge. Just before he made contact with the razor rocks he bit down on his hand as the sky light up and the air was filled with a rage filled roar.

"Eren!" Annie shouted after him, she was about to jump off after him when Bertolt caught her.

"Don't!" Despite the volume of his voice, Annie could feel the desperation in his tone.

Eren's Titan came to a grinding halt just at the base of the caldera and from her elevated position Annie, could two of the horses bolt towards him.

_That's probably Mikasa and Armin… _Grief stirred. _They'll probably try to take him away from you. _Annie tried to ignore the snakes but deep down she couldn't help but agree.

"What do you want us to do?" Bertolt shouted up the king as the steam around Eren's Titan dissipated.

The Titan responded by hardening a thick, sharp layer of crystals over his claws. "I'll bring him back." He snarled, making his way to the very edge. As he was about to leap off and undoubtedly defeat Eren Annie spoke up.

"Let me talk to him. Maybe this can be resolved without violence." It was incredibly difficult to object the King in such a way, everyone of her instincts was screaming at her to stand aside. "We still need him on our side."

The King didn't speak, he instead shed the crystal from his talons and gestured for her to move forward.

Annie slowly made her way to the growling Titan, fists clenched. _Umm Annie, is this a good idea? _

"We need him, we can't let him go just yet," Annie assured herself. _We? _The snake hummed. _Or I? _Annie took a deep breath before talking. "Eren come out of there! Let's talk this through."

The towering Titan looked down to Annie and for a moment she believed that he would listen to her, but seconds later his giant green eyes refocused on the Beast Titan causing him to hiss loudly.

Knowing how stubborn Eren could be Annie rubbed her temples and turned back to her king. "Sir, Eren isn't going to drop this. We still need him on our side, besides, the Survey Corps are different from the rest. They have a more… open mind."

The king hummed loudly and scratched his chin. His coal black eyes looked between Eren's Titan and the formation of horses that had come to a stop at the base of the rocky slopes. "Very well, but," The Titan leaned down until his face was only feet away from Annie's, she could feel the hot breath from his nose as he growled. "Anything that happens as a result, is on your head. Anything." The Beast Titan stood to his dizzying full height and looked down to Eren's still battle ready Titan. "Let them in, they can stay for three days, then you build the Walls."

Eren didn't even wait for the King to finish, upon hearing his agreement he bolted down the side of the volcano as fast as his giant legs could carry him. When he reached the bottom Eren willed for his Titan to vanish and seconds later plumes of steam began erupting from across his body and with each step he took his legs grew shorter until he himself was running, free from the constraints of his Titan.

With the steam now dissipating Eren could see someone dismounting from their horse, someone with raven black hair and a striking red scarf. Seeing her there Eren broke into a full sprint as did Mikasa.

As they grew closer Eren opened his arms and crashed into her with such force he lifted her off the ground and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could. Immediately the tears that had welled up in Mikasa's eyes spilled down her cheeks.

"Eren! Is it really you?" She whispered into his ear.

Eren scoffed a laugh. "It is, it's me, Mikasa."

From up high Annie watched with a heavy heart as another figure with blonde hair threw himself at Eren and Mikasa, sending them tumbling to the ground.

_You let this happen, Ann. _The snakes hissed quietly. _Everything that happens from this moment forward is on your head. _

"I know." Annie whispered, to Bertolt and Reiner she might have appeared confident or uncaring but deep, deep down the following days terrified her.


	37. Family

"Eren come on! We have to go," Mikasa cried as she pulled Eren towards her horse. "Let's go home."

Digging his heels into the grass Eren shook his head. "I can't Mikasa. We can't leave."

"W-why not? We've got a spare horse for you. We have to leave before more Titans show up." As Mikasa pleaded Armin approached the two of them with weary eyes.

Upon seeing his best friend Eren's eyes began to water, he launched himself towards him, Armin's knees buckled instantly causing them both to fall to the ground. "Armin! I was beginning to think I'd never see you again."

"You left some pretty big prints, it would've been difficult to not find you." Armin groaned as he slowly stood up.

Eren looked past his friend to the perilously few soldiers that were slowly gathering around them. "Is this all of you?" He asked.

Immediately Mikasa and Armin's eyes fell to the ground. "Take a guess where the rest of us are?" Eren looked up to see Levi sitting upon his horse. "We left with an army, now there are barely twenty of us left."

"Sir!" Eren brought his fist across his chest and saluted his captain.

Levi rolled his eyes and sighed. "Have you been away so long you've forgotten how to salute?" Eren looked down and realised his left fist was resting on his chest, blushing he quickly slammed his right fist down across his heart. "Tsk. It doesn't matter. What matters is you getting on a horse and getting the hell out of here."

"I can't," Eren stressed. "I just risked everything to get you a place to stay."

"A place to stay? Are you crazy?" Levi growled. "We lost so many to come and get you and now you want us to set up camp?"

Eren turned his head back to look up at Annie, Bertolt and the now standing Beast Titan who stood with the Armoured Titan at his side. Eren could almost feel their stares locked upon him. Taking a deep breath Eren turned back to face his allies. "You won't have to camp," Levi raised an eyebrow. "You won't believe me if I tell you. Just come with me." Walking away Mikasa quickly fell into pace alongside Eren and took immediate notice of just how pale he looked.

As they walked Mikasa rested a hand on his shoulder and gasped at how easily she could feel the bones protruding from him. "Eren what's happened to you?"

"That's why I need you to come with me. I can't explain it." He explained.

Cogs in Mikasa's mind quickly fell into place. "Who can?" She hissed.

Eren stopped in his tracks knowing that this was going to be difficult. "Mikasa you have to let me _and _them explain."

"You mean those monsters?" Mikasa spat. "I promised to kill them when I saw them."

Eren sighed and rubbed his temples. "You can't. These people are not what we thought. They had a reason for what they did."

Hearing Eren defend the people that ruined her life Mikasa's blood began to boil. "They killed _our _mother. They destroyed our home! They-"

"I KNOW!" Eren yelled. Mikasa recoiled slightly at the outburst. "I know, it's just… complicated. Just follow me and you'll get your answers and more." With an open hand Eren took hold of Mikasa and slowly lead her to the base of the caldera. Mikasa would usually relish in the feeling of Eren's hand in her's, she would always feel comfort in the strength with which he held her. Now, she was shocked with the weakness of his grip.

When they finally reached the base of the dead volcano Mikasa tilted her head back to take in the sheer scale of the structure. "How do we climb this?"

"We ask for a ride." Eren smirked as he threw his hands up in the air, waving them in wide arches. Moments later the golden plated Titan began climbing down the great, black rock face. Upon seeing the beast coming towards them Mikasa and several others drew their blades, ready to attack. Mikasa began running up the steep rocks ready to cleave the Titan limb from limb, she was about to fire off her cables when Eren reached up to her and grabbed her hand, turning on him she saw Eren shaking his head. "Let him come down."

As Reiner approached he began to slow down, his glowing eyes shifting from one soldier to another. He knew that inside his armoured cocoon there was no threat of being attacked, their blades could only scratch at his protection yet despite the certainty of his safety seeing the burning hate in the eyes of the people he once called friends sent icy daggers up his spine.

"Are you telling us to just stand here as that thing gets closer?" Levi growled, his grip on his swords tightening with every step Reiner took.

Eren looked back to his captain with steel in his eyes. "If you attack him now then we'll all die," Levi didn't lower his blades but neither did ready them to fight, he instead let them rest at his hips. Confident that Levi wouldn't try to kill Reiner he turned back to the approaching Titan. "Reiner!" He yelled. "I need a ride."

Reluctantly the Armoured Titan fell to one knee and offered Eren an open hand. Without waiting Eren pulled himself up and into the waiting palm, turning back he saw shock in Mikasa's famously calm eyes.

"H-how can you do that?" She stuttered. "After everything they've done how can you do it?"

A sharp pain shot through Eren's head as he replayed Mikasa's question over and over again, eventually as the ache subsided he faced his sister. "I… I try not to think about it. Things are more complicated than I ever thought and… I need you to help me with this."

As if on cue Reiner moved his hand a couple of feet closer to Mikasa, trying his hardest not to make eye contact with her. Taking a deep breath Mikasa edged closer to the giant hand and only when Eren offered her his hand did she finally climb on board.

With Mikasa holding his hand with a sightly concerning amount of strength Eren turned to Levi who scoffed at the offer. "If you think I'm even touching that filthy thing you stupider than I thought," Sheathing his blades, much to the relief of Reiner, he rested his hands on the gas tanks at his sides. "I'll make my own way up."

As Reiner curled his fingers around his passengers Levi made his way back over to the waiting soldiers and even from his height Eren could see that out of the faces of his friends, his crazy, childish friends. But as he looked closer he could see the dark rings around their eyes and judging from the way they held themselves as they dismounted their steeds the friends Eren had made and known during training had gone.

Using his free hand to help him climb Reiner slowly began making his way back up the rock face and against his better judgment Reiner lifted his passengers up high enough for him to hear what they were talking about.

"We were beginning to think you were… gone," Mikasa sobbed as Eren held her in his arms. "Levi, he told us to… he told us to give up on you, but I couldn't do it."

Eren smirked as Mikasa curled her fingers into his shirt. "I wasn't going to be gone forever. Wait," He snapped, pulling away from her momentarily. "If Levi gave up why are you here?"

Mikasa wiped her eyes and looked up to her carrier. "We had no choice. Once Reiner and Bertolt kidnapped Ch-Historia and Ymir things changed. We were all summoned to the capital and told that we needed to get her and you back."

"Were you told why?"

Shaking her head Mikasa balled her fists. "No. We were told to go find you and Historia and bring you back. We couldn't return unless we found you."

"What!?" The suddenness of Eren's outburst caused Reiner to nearly lose his grip, after tightening his hold against the wall he continued to climb. "How could they do that?"

"They sent the everyone except commander Erwin and Hanji. We had no idea what to do so we just followed your footprints," Mikasa explained. "Because of all the Titans we had to ride through the nights, everyone is exhausted."

Eren clasped his hands against his head and screwed his eyes shut. "This is my fault… I could have escaped and made it back to you."

"I doubt _they _would have let you," She spat just loud enough from Reiner to hear her through his armour and flesh. Turning her attention back to Eren Mikasa asked the question that had been plaguing her and the minds of her friends for the past few weeks. "Why did they send us after you?"

"Like I said. I can't explain it. I barely understand it myself," He shrugged. "The king and the others can tell you what you need to know."

Mikasa raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "King?" Eren pointed to the great beast that stood waiting for Reiner at the lip of the caldera.

"He's in charge around here and he wants to help me. As soon as I'm better we can go see the ocean. Think about it," Eren beamed. "Just a few days and we can be free."

Even as Eren rambled about seeing the ocean and everything beyond Mikasa could only focus on one thing. "What do you mean 'get better'? What's wrong with you?"

Rubbing the back of his head Eren sighed. "I'm not even sure. I've been told it has to do with dad and this thing called the Coordinate but that's all I understand."

"Coordinate?" Mikasa echoed.

"Yeah I have no idea what it is but apparently it's stuck inside me and that's what's caused…" Eren gestured to his frail form. "This."

Resting the back of hand against his forehead Mikasa immediately set about trying to help Eren. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Eren shook his head. "It's okay though, Annie knows this technique that can take the edge off it."

Upon hearing her name Mikasa's eyes narrowed. "Why would she help you?" She hissed.

"Mikasa," Eren sighed. "She opened my eyes, I used to see it as black and white. Humans and titans and then I turned into a titan."

"Things can't go back to the way they were can they?" Mikasa mumbled.

"No." Was all Eren said as Reiner delivered them to the rim of the rock face. Now that they had arrived Reiner lowered them to the ground, not wanting to be in contact with him any longer Mikasa jumped from Reiner's hand and offered Eren her own hand to help him down.

Eren took her hand with a smile as she helped him down. Looking around Mikasa's eyes were immediately drawn to the Beast Titan who was watching her with such intensity she felt a cold shiver pass up her spine.

"And who is this?" He growled.

Mikasa's jaw fell open as the Titan spoke but Eren took a step forward and shielded her with an extended arm. "Someone important to me. All of them are."

The Titan leaned in until his face was only a few feet away from Mikasa's. After what felt like hours he shifted his coal black eyes on to Eren. "I'm letting them on one condition. No more waiting Eren."

Clenching his fists Eren held the Titan's stare. "I get it." Eren barked.

Satisfied with his response the Beast Titan stood to his dizzying height and turned to Reiner. "Lead them inside and take them to the Leonhardt's."

Not wanting to test his leader's patients further the Armoured Titan silently obeyed leaving Annie with wide eyes.

"Why are they staying on my land?" She called out to her King.

"I warned you that you would take responsibility for Eren's actions. If I recall you have a barn where you can… store them," As he spoke a thin, sharp grin grew across his lips. "If however you can't put up with them I can turn them away and you can explain to Eren why his people were killed in front of him."

Annie met the gaze of her king with all the ice she could muster. "I'll make room."

"Good. Now I think you have some difficult conversations to have." The Titan chuckled as Mikasa approached her.

_Never thought we'd be having this talk. _Greif cooed. _I'm leaving this one to you. _With the snake's last words the serpent coiled itself in the recesses of Annie's mind. Turning to face her Annie balled her fists.

"Did you help Eren?" Mikasa hissed. Annie sharply nodded, she wanted to answer her but Annie found her words stuck in her throat. "I should kill you for what you've done," Eren wanted to intervene but he knew that this was something Mikasa had to do if she was going to stay without killing Annie or getting killed by her.

"We did what we needed to do." Annie replied, it was taking all her composure to retain the strength in her voice.

Mikasa's fists balled even tighter as Annie tried to justify her actions. "Attacking my family was what you needed to do?" She spat.

"Yes. We needed to find the Coordinate, attacking the Walls was the best way to find it." Annie explained, only once did her voice show the slightest signs of worry.

Mikasa didn't give Annie the chance to catch her breath as she fired off question after question. "What is it?What could be worth killing all those people for?"

Annie looked over to the Beast Titan who was watching the conversation as he walked away. His supernatural hearing easily picked up on Mikasa's question, he stared at Annie and gave her a slight nod.

"It allows us to protect ourselves from the Titans since, if you haven't noticed, we don't have walls."

Narrowing her eyes Mikasa took a step towards Annie. "You couldn't ask for help? You _had _to attack us?"

Stepping forward to meet her Annie prepared herself to fight. "We did ask! Our people begged as Titans ate us one by one. You think we wanted to attack you? We had no choice!"

Eren could see where their conversation would lead, knowing that they would likely kill each other if they were to fight Eren decided to step between them. "Ann," His voice was low and soft as he tried to bring Annie back from where her anger was taking her. "She'll understand. Like me."

"You're defending her when she helped kill our mother?" Mikasa asked in horror.

Eren turned to look at his sister. "I am because I've listened to her. And now I'm asking you to do the same. Please Mika, just let her explain."

Mikasa studied the weary expression with which Eren faced and saw that the fire that had for so long burned in his glares and raged in his voice was gone. Replaced by a weakness and exhaustion that sapped more of his energy with each word. "Okay. I'll listen."

Sighing a heavy sigh of relief Eren rested a hand on Mikasa's shoulder. "Thank you," With Mikasa anger temporally put to rest Eren could face Annie. "Can you take us down? If I shift again I'm not sure I'll be able to get out." He chuckled.

Annie rubbed her temples, without saying a word she walked several meters away from the two of them and raised her hand to her open mouth when Mikasa stopped her. "I'll carry Eren down."

"Doesn't make a difference to me," Annie shrugged. "Eren can take you back to mine."

(Line)

After carrying Eren down the rockface Eren began leading Mikasa back to Annie's home. As they walked Mikasa bombarded Eren with questions about her surroundings.

"Like I said, most of the people here are shifters."

"Why can't they look after themselves?"

"They're not strong enough." Eren said in a low tone.

As they walked through the markets and farms they both turned back to see the Armoured Titan leading a line of troops and horses. Upon seeing these strangers and the strange equipment hanging from their waists people would gasp and whisper at the sight of the enemy.

"Eren I don't like it here." Mikasa mumbled to him.

Taking her hand and squeezing it firmly Eren did his best to comfort Mikasa. "I know but it's only for a few days, when the wa- King takes the Coordinate out of me we can leave."

"And go home?"

"Yeah, we can all go home."

The rest of the walk consisted of Eren answering Mikasa's great number of questions with his limited knowledge, as they approached the door Eren raised his hands to her. "Look I don't really know. You'd find more answers talking to Annie. It'd give you something to talk about." He chuckled.

Mikasa bit her tongue at Eren's jab. "That's not funny you know." She mumbled.

"Sorry," Eren groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. "It just helps to joke sometimes."

Eventually Eren lead Mikasa back to Annie's home, sitting outside was an exhausted looking Ymir and a worried looking Historia.

"M-Mikasa!?" Historia blurted out, Ymir groaned in in pain as she lifted her head from Historia's lap.

Her brown eyes focused on the approaches and after realising who they were she smiled. "Long time no see Mikasa."

"Are you two okay?" Mikasa asked as she ran towards them.

Historia looked towards her partner and smirked. "Yeah, we're okay."

"What are you doing here?" Ymir asked.

"We're here for Eren and you," Mikasa said as she pointed towards Historia. "We needed to get them and take them home."

Ymir chuckled to herself. "Let me guess, our gracious host isn't going to let that happen?"

"Yeah," Mikasa sighed. "We're allowed to stay for three days." Hearing the countdown Eren unknowing balled his fists. Then like it or not we're taking you both home."

"Hey," Ymir waved. "Feel free to take me with you. I want to get as far away from this place as possible."

Historia promptly jabbed Ymir in the side before facing Mikasa. "We can all go home."

Ymir scoffed to herself. "Yeah like you're gonna be able to take Eren's girlfriend back with you."

Eren sighed as Mikasa's jaw locked at Ymir's comment. "You know it's not like that. You're just trying to start something."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell that to Annie." Ymir smirked.

"Tell what to me?" Everyone turned to see Annie walking towards them.

Eren smiled upon seeing her. "Nothing, just Ymir sticking her nose where it doesn't belong." The last part of his sentence was a loud hiss.

"Right," Annie deadpanned clearly not paying attention to Eren or the glares Mikasa was shooting her. "Reiner will be here with the others soon, I need you to help me get the barn ready."

Just as Eren stepped forward to agree Mikasa stopped him. "I thought Eren wasn't well."

"He's well enough to help me," Annie returned the ice in Mikasa's stares. "That is if you want a place to sleep."

Mikasa didn't waver under the pressure Annie was exerting. "I'm more than well enough to help."

Knowing that if allowed to continue fists would fly Eren stepped forward. "It's okay, I can help. Just because I'm not in top condition doesn't mean I should start being lazy."

"Well spoken." Annie said as she made her way towards the barn behind her home. After giving his sister a pleading look Eren followed her.

* * *

"I had almost forgotten how much we hated each other." Annie groaned as she threw another hay bale towards Eren.

Eren had just finished spreading the contents of the last bale onto the ground when Annie launched another to him. "She didn't hate you… She just didn't trust you."

Annie rolled her eyes as she went to pick up another bale. "We both know that isn't true. Anyway I needed to ask you something."

Eren stretched his arms over his head, groaning as his joints clicked. "Sure, what is it?"

"How are you feeling?" Eren opened his mouth to reply when Annie cut him off. "And don't lie."

"Not too great if you're gonna interrogate me," Annie raised an eyebrow. "My headache is pretty much constant and I feel like I'm burning up. Just like when I was by the river."

Annie wiped the sweat from her brow and walked up to Eren. Without waiting for permission she pressed the back of her hand against his forehead. She quickly pulled her hand away and hummed.

"You definitely have a fever," Her voice was filled with concern as she looked into Eren's eyes. "And you look a mess."

"Still think I have three days in me?" Eren chuckled dryly.

"No I don't," Annie didn't bother sugar coating the truth, she knew there would be no point. "We've got to buy you more time."

Eren closed his eyes and massaged his temples as he tried to recall the previous attempt to give him more time. "Unraveling."

"Looks like you need it," Annie sighed. "It works better if your relaxed so we'll do it tonight."

Annie turned to spread out the hay on the floor, doing so meant she couldn't see the furious red blush that had grown across Eren's cheeks. "R-right."

"Come to my room tonight and I'll see what I can do," Annie deadpanned as she looked at her work. "That should do it. Go back and explain what's going on to all your friends."

Eren nodded and quickly left the barn. Outside Eren found that Reiner had lead the remainder of the Survey Corps back to Annie's home. Upon seeing his friends Eren broke out into a sprint that he immediately regretted. He came to a stop at the Armoured Titan's feet and took a moment to examine the uncomfortable expressions on the faces of his friends.

"Eren!" Armin gasped. "This place is unbelievable. I had no idea a place like this existed."

Eren chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Neither did I."

"So, what's happening here?" Armin asked, his eyes occasionally flickering up towards the Armoured Titan.

"That's the thing," Eren sighed. "Come on, follow me. I'll explain all I can."

* * *

"You do realise what you're saying sounds insane." Jean pouted.

Levi hummed his agreement. "If this is all true then the royal family has been using the Survey Corps to keep people from finding this place."

"What do you mean?" Eren asked.

"Ugh," Levi moaned. "Everytime, _everytime _the Corps we come back from an expedition it sends a message," Eren shook his head. Levi rubbed his temples before continuing. "It tells people that the only thing out there are Titans. And that makes staying inside the Walls seem like a better, safer idea."

"In other words," Everyone turned to Hanji who was sitting cross legged on a pile of hay. "The Survey Corps were just sacrifices."

Instantly the surviving members of the Survey Corps gritted the teeth and balled their fists. "Is that all they thought of us?" Jean growled.

"That would also explain why they are so obsessed with getting Historia back," Hanji hummed. "They need someone to carry the, what did you call it?"

"The Coordinate."

Hanji smiled. "Yes, the Coordinate. What exactly is it?"

Eren sighed. "I don't know. Not even Annie knows. They just told me it was a power, a power that my father stole from the royal family."

"So what does this 'King' get from saving you?" Levi asked.

Eren's eyes dropped to the floor. "In return… he wants the Coordinate."

"You want to give this power to the people that attacked us?" Jean scoffed.

Many of the soldiers voiced their agreement. "I find myself agreeing with Jean," Hanji said. "You said he wants to save his people with it. But you haven't told us how."

"This, this is where it gets really crazy," Eren sighed. "The Walls, all of them are made of Titans," Giving his comrades a moment to let the revelation sink Eren took note of the looks of disbelief on their faces. "The King wants to use the Coordinate to build Walls for his people."

Hanji exchanged a lengthy stare with Levi, while no words were spoken she seemed to get the message across. "Eren. I'm sorry but you can't allow him to do that."

Eren's eyes widened with shock. "If I don't I'll die."

"Yes," Hanji sighed. "But we can't let the enemy gain such a power. From what you've told us the King has every reason to wipe us out."

"And we'd be giving him the perfect weapon do so." Levi added.

Eren stood up and made his way to leave, just before he did he turned back to Levi. "So what am I then? A sacrifice?" With that he left. Mikasa went to follow him when Armin reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Mikasa," She looked down at her friend who slowly shook his head. "Let him get his head around this."

* * *

Outside the sun had long since set leaving Eren standing alone in the darkness. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he slowly made his way back to Annie's home when he was stopped by the sound of running water.

"Done with your little catch up then?" Eren turned around to see Annie holding a bucket of water. "It's not polite to keep a girl waiting," Seeing the look of despair on his face Annie took a step towards him. "Come on, you look awful."

As Annie lead him inside Eren couldn't help but smirk to himself in the candle light.


	38. Closer

**We're here with chapter 38! I really enjoyed writing this one, it was loads of fun! I want to say a BIG thank you to Forevershine. Your kind review really got me through this chapter so this one is for you! Read on and enjoy!**

* * *

As Annie led him inside Eren took note of the dim candles that were scattered across the dining room. "What's with the candles?" Eren asked as he followed Annie towards the stairs.

"You need to be relaxed for this to work as well as possible," Annie shrugged. "Candles are relaxing." In the dim, flickering light Eren let a small smile spread across his lips as Annie disappeared upstairs.

Upstairs Eren found Annie waiting outside her door holding the bucket in both hands. "What's the bucket for?" Eren asked pointing to the container.

Even in the dim light Eren could see Annie roll her eyes. "You stink so your taking a bath."

Narrowing his eyes Eren made his way towards the door. "Is it that bad?" He whispered under his breath.

"Yes." Annie curtly replied before following Eren inside.

* * *

Inside Annie's room Eren's eyes were immediately drawn to a large wooden tub, a thick column of steam was steadily rising from the water that Annie had spent nearly an hour preparing. "That for me?" Annie nodded.

"Take off your shirt and trousers and get in before it gets cold," Annie ordered as placed the bucket by her feet. Eren gingerly reached for the hem of his shirt and as he began to lift his shirt he noticed Annie was still looking at him.

A pink blush crawled across Eren's cheeks as Annie's gaze didn't falter. Eventually Annie realised that Eren wasn't moving, cogs quickly began turning in Annie's head. She rolled her eyes and pointed to a folded screen.

"Thanks." Eren mumbled as he pulled the screen across him. With Annie out of view Eren quickly pulled shirt over his head and threw it to the floor, followed by his trousers and socks.

The moment Annie heard Eren getting in the water she moved the screen out of the way and pulled a stool out to sit behind Eren. "How's the water?"

Eren hummed in pleasure as his muscles relaxed under the hear. "Thank you Ann." Eren didn't even realise that he had used Annie's nickname until she flicked cold water onto the back of his neck.

As he turned around Eren could see the remnants of a smile on her lips. "Did you bring that bucket just to splash me?"

"Only if you annoy me," Annie cooed as she wet a cloth in the water. "Lean back." Without any smart comments Eren leaned back against the wood, his eyes widened suddenly when he felt Annie's fingers comb through his hair.

The softness with which Annie ran her fingers across Eren's head, behind his ears and over his crown startled Eren.

_Even during training, Ann was never this… gentle. _Eren thought to himself.

"How do you get so much dirt in your hair?" Annie sighed as she dipped her hands in the cold water.

Eren turned his head slightly so Annie could see the smirk on his lips. "Maybe if someone didn't throw me into the dirt so much…"

This time Annie splashed a handful of cold water across his face. "Maybe if you actually learned how to fight you wouldn't end up in the dirt."

After wiping the water from his eyes Eren fround up to Annie. "I can fight!"

"Anyone who isn't me," Annie smirked. "And what about the other thing I tried to teach you?"

"Other thing?" Eren asked.

Annie let her hands drop from Eren's head and into the hot water. "So you _still _haven't learned how to talk to girls."

Eren laughed and turned around completely to face Annie. "I always thought you were joking about that."

"I was to begin with," Annie hummed. "I was teasing you."

"Never saw you as a tease Ann." Eren scoffed.

Although he couldn't see it Annie had a rare, wide smile on her lips. "Well it's so easy to mess with you. How could I not?"

"Is it that easy?" Eren groaned as Annie began to rub the hot water into Eren's hair.

This time Annie scoffed. "Don't you remember Jean teasing you about the Survey Corps?"

Eren's brow immediately creased. "I do now," He sighed. "He just wanted to laze about with the military police!" Eren's comment was quickly met by a splash of cold water. "What was that for?"

"I may be reading in this but I think Jean admires you in way."

This time Eren rounded entirely on Annie his jaw wide open. "What are you talking about?"

Annie shrugged. "Towards the end of training Jean changed. You were probably too caught up in your dreams to realise," Annie said waving her hands. "But Jean seemed more focused during drills."

"Hm… He seemed just as petty to me." Once again Eren was met with an icy wet slap.

"That's because you never pay attention," Annie sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, how do you feel?"

Eren rolled his shoulders and groaned as he felt swollen muscles loosen. "Much better."

"Good, do you think you're ready?"

Taking a deep breath breath Eren thought back to the last time he and Annie had Unravelled. "It won't be like last time right?"

Annie caught the gasp in her throat before Eren could hear her. "No. Last time we fought so we saw memories linked to fighting."

"Well I'm in a bath," Eren chuckled dryly. "Does that mean your going to see my memories of bathing?" Eren's joke was quickly met with a gentle slap of cold water.

"Don't get any weird ideas," Annie moaned. "Just leaned forward and close your eyes." Eren did as he was told, leaning forward to expose his back to Annie. He shivered when Annie's palms pressed against him.

Annie too took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she focused entirely on Eren.

_Are you ready Ann? _Greif cooed from the shadows. Annie didn't give any answer to the snake, instead she took one final breath.

* * *

Annie's eyes shot open only to be immediately blinded by a harsh orange light. What shocked her however wasn't the light. It was the sense of falling that caused her stomach to flip. Suddenly Annie realised that she was flying, looking down she saw a floor of trees and leaves that spanned on for a far as she could see.

Only then did Annie realise what was happening. _I remember this day. We were training in the woods with the 3D gear. _Annie thought to herself as she plunged through the layers of foliage that separated her from the ground. _This must be what Eren finds relaxing. Most people would consider this terrifying… _Annie then found herself laughing. _Of course then it only makes sense Eren would enjoy this. _Before she had a chance to laugh at her comment Annie heard a loud laugh coming from behind her.

"Looks like Eren's going to beat you this time Jean." Annie instantly recognised the voice as Connie Springer and upon turning her head she saw the bald boy trailing far behind her.

Connie's comment was quickly met with a piercing sound and a cloud of white gas as someone rocketed past her, someone with mouse brown hair and a sly smirk.

"Not gonna happen this time Jeager!" Jean bellowed. "I'm going to be the first out of this forest and then you'll be on toilet duty for a week." And with a flick of his wrist Jean accelerated into a blur as he disappeared beyond the trees.

For a second Connie was left dumbstruck but quickly regained his childish smile. "You gonna let him get away with that Eren?"

What happened next Annie would remember as one of the strangest feelings in her life. Before she even realised it words were traveling up her throat and out if her mouth, yet it wasn't her voice.

"I'll make horse face eat his words!"

_Eren's voice… He always sounded so strong and confident. _Annie thought to herself as she flew through the trees and branches. _Hmph. I could get through here much faster and I wouldn't use as much gas. _She bragged to herself and Eren guided her among the giant trees.

Despite his apparent inefficiency Eren managed to navigate his way through the woods without crashing. Weaving his way through the trees Eren eventually saw the wall of light that signified the end of the course. After landing on the lush grass Eren's eyes locked onto Jean who was lying on his back, chest heaving.

Suddenly a thought burst into Annie's mind. _I remember this!_

"I was wondering who going to get here first." Eren looked up to see Reiner standing over him with a bold, wide smile.

"What!? I didn't see you pass us. How did you beat us?" Eren asked.

Reiner looked to Bertolt who was sitting by the cart that would take them back to the dorms. "We got here ages ago."

Eren was about to reply when an all too familiar voice filled his ears. "Maybe if you weren't so focused on beating Jean you would have noticed us overtaking you." Eren turned to see Annie leaning against a tree.

The shade covered her almost entirely, only her feet were in the light but Eren knew that only Annie could speak with such ice.

To Annie however she looking at herself through Eren's eyes, she felt Eren's lips tug into a smirk as Annie emerged from the shadows.

"Like there's anyone who could beat you." Eren scoffed.

Annie turned her head to the cart where a Mikasa was standing. "Funny you should say that. She got here way ahead of any of us."

Seeing Eren emerge from the trees Mikasa had stood from her seat and made her way over to Eren. As she asked him how he fared on the course Eren found himself staring at Annie with a childish grin.

Annie took note of his smile and rolled her eyes before returning a delicate smirk to Eren and as they made their way back to the base they knew they would be seeing each other that night.

* * *

Air flooded Annie's lungs as her eyes shot open, gone was the lush green grass and open blue skies, replaced by the faint glow of candlelight in the dark of night. She pulled her hands away from Eren's back and wiped her brow.

_That was weird… _The snakes groaned as Annie recalled what she saw and felt.

"Annie?" Eren croaked. "You okay?"

After wiping the sweat from her brow Annie answered. "Yeah, I'm alright."

Eren sighed a heavy, tired sigh as he turned to face Annie. "No matter how many times we do that its just as weird," Annie simply hummed in agreement as the fuzziness in her vision started to clear. After waiting a few minutes for the worst of the headaches to pass Eren eventually asked a question that had been plaguing him since Annie suggested they Unravel. "What did you see?"

"It was a day from training," Annie explained. "The day when you and Jean raced to finish the course but me, Mikasa, Reiner and Bertolt had already beaten you."

The encroaching darkness couldn't hide Eren smile as he thought back to the memory in question. "I never figured out how you beat us."

"Well all of us were in the top four." Annie pointed out.

Eren pouted. "Well, I was in the top five!"

Annie winced at Eren's harsh tone. "Not so loud, I'm still recovering over here."

"Huh?" Eren questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I feel fine."

"That's the point."

"Wait," Cogs started to turn in Eren's head as realisation dawned on him. "Does it hurt you?" Annie looked down. "Answer me Ann."

"Yes," She snapped. "When I untangle the memories I…"

"You what?" Eren's tone was sharp but it didn't hide the worry in his voice.

Clenching her fists Annie finally answered Eren. "It shortens my lifespan. Each time I do it my life shortens even more."

Eren's deep green eyes widened with horror. "What!? But you've done it three times now."

"I know." The ice had returned to Annie's voice with all the cold and venom she was used to.

"How much does it shorten your life by?"

Annie shrugged. "It's hard to say since it's only ever used as a last resort."

Eren stood from the water and balled his fists. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Annie took a moment to regain her composure before she faced Eren. "Would you have done it if you knew?" Eren opened his mouth to reply but found no words. "Exactly."

"We're not doing it again," Eren growled. "Even if I'm dying you're not doing it."

A small smirk picked at Annie's lips. "Even I think you can survive three days."

Eren's jaw dropped. "You're joking now?"

With a shrug of her shoulders Eren's jaw dropped even further. "There's no point being all serious. The damage's been done," Eren realised that Annie had point, the damage had been done, there was nothing he could do. "Take this." Annie sighed as she threw a towel to Eren.

Eren plucked the towel out of the air and began drying his hair. "Hey Eren," Annie asked as he dried his shoulders. "What did you see?"

"Hm… It was really blurry," Eren explained. "I think you were standing on the Walls after cleaning a cannon-" Before Eren could go on Annie cut him off.

"I remember, it was in Trost. Just before Bertolt attacked," Annie took a breath as she waited for Eren's inevitable outburst, but it never came. "I-I was looking out over the Walls-" This time Eren cut her off.

"And you were thinking of home." Eren said with a warm smile.

Annie returned his smile with one equally as warm. "Yeah, I was."

After drying himself Eren put on his shirt. "You really missed home didn't you?" Eren asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"We all did," Annie nodded. "Bertolt more than me and Reiner though," She explained. "He always had this vacant look in his eyes, from the moment we left all he could think of was home."

* * *

After drying and getting dressed Eren and Annie went downstairs, looking around Eren realised that no one was around. "Where is everyone?"

"I imagine Ymir and Historia are catching up with everyone."

"What about your dad?"

Annie stretched her arms over head and sighed. "I'm don't know but it looks like we have the place to ourselves."

"How do you feel?" Eren asked as he stepped towards Annie.

As if on cue Annie winced and reached for her temples. "I think I have your headache now." She chuckled dryly.

Eren rested his hands on his hips as Annie took a seat at the table. "Maybe you should get some sleep."

Annie shook her head. "I don't think I could get to sleep with this." She moaned pointing to her temples.

A comfortable silence fell on the two of them as Annie leaned back in her chair and Eren went about lighting the fire place, eventually Annie could tell that something was bothering Eren. Whenever he walked by her he would avoid eye contact, his fists were balled, more than usual and would bite his lip on the rare occasion their eyes met.

"Eren what's wrong?"

After piling up the firewood Eren hung his head and sighed. "I… I just have a question, Ann."

"What is it?"

Eren stood and turned to face Annie. "W-what's going to happen when all this is over?"

Annie raised an eyebrow. "All this?"

"The walls, Titans and everything," Eren sighed. "When this is all over what happens to you?"

Annie's eyes fell to the floor. "Assuming I still have enough time to think about the future-"

"You can come to the ocean with us." Eren interrupted.

"Eren, we've talked about this. Mikasa doesn't want me within ten feet of you."

"You saved my life. Mika will understand that," Eren protested. "This can be a fresh start for us."

_Ann… _Grief hummed. _Are you really considering this? _

"Eren are you serious? Do you really think it can work?" Annie made sure to keep her eyes on the floor to keep Eren from seeing the hope in her eyes.

"Of course I do! Think about it, we can travel to the ocean on my Titan. It could take a while so we'd have to switch between my Titan and yours to get there quicker," Before he could stop himself Eren was explaining the plan he had been building in his head for days. Annie tried to catch the laugh that rose from her chest but Eren heard her. "What?"

This time Annie looked up and faced Eren despite the hope that filled her eyes. "You've put a lot of thought into this."

"Of course I have! In a few days I'm gonna be free to go where I want," Eren explained. "And I can go with who I want."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And who might that be?"

Chuckling deeply Eren stepped towards Annie. "You… if you want."

"You'd take a fragile maiden like myself all the way to the ocean?" Annie giggled as she faked weakness.

A wide smile grew across Eren's lips as he knelled in front of Annie. He slowly reached out and took Annie's hands in his own, for a moment he waited to see if Annie withdrew herself like she had so many times. Eren's chest swelled when Annie kept her hands still and looked into his eyes.

"Haven't you ever wanted to see it?" Annie struggled to hold back her smile at seeing Eren so energetic. "The ocean, think about it! More salt than all the merchants in the world can sell."

Annie could no longer hold her laugh in. "Okay, okay. I get it. The ocean sounds amazing."

Eren gently pulled Annie to her feet and gave her a gentle smile. "Will you come with us? With me?"

"You're not giving me much of a choice Jeager," Annie hummed. "You going to carry me there?"

Eren scoffed. "I doubt you'd let me."

Annie's smiles spread even further across her lips as she pulled Eren's arms around her frame. For a moment her breath hitched when Eren's arms stiffened, her worries were quickly abated when Eren pulled Annie against him.

"B-been a while since we've been this close." Eren whispered as he rested his head on top of Annie's.

"Shut up," Annie cooed. "Less talking. More…"

"More what?" Eren chuckled quietly.

Annie responded by cupping Eren's cheek and guiding him down to her lips.

"Just more."Was all Annie had time to say before she sealed her lips onto Eren's and as she lead Eren upstairs a single thought passed through Annie's mind.

_Maybe Eren did learn to talk to girls. _


End file.
